


Becoming the Wolfe's

by kiwi_piwi



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - The Walking Dead Fusion, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Blood and Violence, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Gun Violence, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kidnapping, Merle Dixon Being an Asshole, Murder, On the Run, Physical Abuse, Protective Daryl Dixon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2020-07-23 20:04:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 24,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20014039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiwi_piwi/pseuds/kiwi_piwi
Summary: Merle Dixon had gotten himself in a pickle. His younger brother, Daryl, was getting sick and tired of always helping him out. This time, though, topped the charts. Not only had his brother aided and abetted a robbery, but he had kidnapped a twenty-four-year-old terrified girl.Daryl needed a vacation. Badly.





	1. One

Daryl Dixon had worked for the same construction company for fifteen years. He worked hard to make money and maintain his life. He had been promoted twice and held the title of a foreman, meaning he mostly had to yell at people if they didn’t work and deal with their dramatics. He would have never though grown-ass men would complain about the others as much as they did, and he found it exhausting.

But, it was his day off, and as much as he liked being inside, in the air conditioning, he had yardwork to do. He started first thing in the morning, before it got too unbearably hot. He mowed, weed-whacked, and even pulled some weeds out of the flower beds the person he had bought the house from had set up. They were the type that came back year after, otherwise, he would have taken out the landscaping and put in river rock, or something else more easily maintained.

His only neighbor, old Mrs. Fritz, loved the flowers. Any time they bloomed, she shuffled across the street and clipped some for her table. She especially loved to give them to her grandchildren. They were getting older and even Daryl had noticed they didn’t visit much anymore.

Not that he had much to reference. He had only ever met one grandfather; his mother’s father came to her funeral before passing only a few months later from cancer.

After the yard work was done, he spent a few hours in the garage fiddling around with his two prized possessions - his motorcycles. Technically, one was his brother’s, but because Merle caused more harm than good, Daryl had offered to keep it in his garage, mostly so he wouldn’t wake up to the police at his door one morning to tell him the older Dixon brother had been driving hammered and got himself killed.

Eventually, when the heat and humidity were growing to be unbearable, he retreated inside. He popped open a beer and headed for the shower. It was his day off and he had done more than enough to feel that he deserved it.

His house was what some women referred to as quaint. Small and cute, unlike himself. Two bedrooms, a two-car garage for his truck and bikes, a decent kitchen with a gas stove, and a living room. What more did he need? He barely had enough furniture to fill it as it was, because it simply wasn’t necessary to have more. He hated clutter and he hated a dirty house. Two byproducts of living up with an abusive, alcoholic father that had made him a better man, in his own eyes.

He took a cool shower and drained the beer as the water rained down over him. He toweled off and roamed to his bedroom, where his cell phone was on the charger, where he left it most of the time. The little light in the upper right corner was flashing; he had a message.

His brother had called two hours before. Daryl felt the familiar ball of dread slowly begin to form before he even checked the voicemail.

“Hey, lil’ brother, it’s me. I, uh… I - shit.” There was a pause as something thumped in the background. Daryl’s eyes narrowed as he tried to place whatever that other sound in the background was. “I need your help with something. I’m out at Gary’s old place. Get here as soon as you can.”

“Fuckin’ Christ,” Daryl muttered. “So much for this bein’ a good day.” 

He pulled on jeans and a t-shirt. He paced for a moment, debating whether or not to call Merle first, to know what he was going to walk into. He decided against it and locked up the house.

Gary was their sort of step-uncle. The brother of a lady their father had married briefly when Daryl was in junior high. The marriage hadn’t lasted for obvious reasons, but Gary had liked the kids, though Merle was already out of high school at that point. 

Gary died three years before. It came as a surprise to both brothers that he left his old house in the country to them. It had been used for the past forty or so years simply as a hunting lodge for friends and family only.

The house was a forty-minute drive from Daryl’s house, mostly because it took many winding county roads to reach it. When he pulled into the drive and found Merle’s rusted old car - not that Daryl’s truck was too much better - that ball of nerves tightened.

He parked. He took a deep breath. He went in through the front door to find his brother at the kitchen table, smoking a cigarette with a bloody-knuckled hand.

“‘Bout fuckin’ time,” Merle growled. “Thought you were off work today.”

“Am. I’m busy. What the fuck did you get into this time?” Daryl asked with an edge to his voice. His eyes drifted over to a large black back on the kitchen table. “What’s in the bag?”

“I gotta explain myself and it’s a lot so just…. Stay calm for a minute.” Merle stood up and began to pace while his brother stiffened, bracing himself for the impact.

“You remember Jason?” Merle asked carefully. “Jason Echers.”

“Coked-out Jason?” Daryl asked with trepidation. “Thought you said you were done doing business with that guy.”

“I was, but I got hungry, ya know? Needed some cash flowing. So, I called up Jason-”

“Bad idea,” Daryl growled.

“Yeah, no shit, I fuckin’ know that now,” Merle snapped back. “Just listen. I called up Jason and he said if we did a couple-a small jobs for this big guy back in Atlanta, Montoya. Runs the gangs and shit apparently. Well, we did a couple of small jobs, and then they started getting bigger. We were makin’ money so we went with it for a few months. Then, I said I wanted out. Montoya runs a tight ship and I’m known for fuckin’ things up, so I said my piece, said I was done. Thanks for the opportunity, thanks for the money, I’m out.

“Montoya caught wind of that and said nah, ain’t happening. Some guys nabbed me at a gas station, took me to meet him in person. Scary fuckin’ dude, man. Tiny, though, I expected someone bigger, buff. He wears this suit and-”

“I don’t give a shit what he wears,” Daryl cut in impatiently. “Hurry the fuck up.”

“Right, right. Well, he said, I hear you want out. That’s only good for me if you do me one last job. So I said, what sort of job are we talkin’? And he says, rob a store for me. I’m over there thinkin’, alright, not my favorite job, but I can skim some cash out of a gas station or some shit. Then Jason walks in, this big fuckin’ grin on his face like he knows somethin’ I don’t.

“Then they show me these plans. These blueprints. They said that we were gonna rob a fuckin’ grocery store. In daylight, in Atlanta. I said no way, then Jason spoke up. Said he remembers meeting you.” Merle’s eyes finally met his younger brother’s. “And man, I might throw a few assholes under the bus, but he said if I didn’t do this with him, someone was gonna come take care of you.”

“Fuckin’ hell, Merle,” Daryl said with dread.

“So, we go and do it. This morning, 8am. On a Tuesday. And it’s all sorta working. The plan was to use some cute girl who shops there every week as leverage. Hold a gun to her head, tell everyone if they fuck up, she gets killed. ‘Course, I wasn’t gonna kill her, but I was the one with a gun to her head. Some manager went with us to the back room while Jason kept an eye on everyone else. He wasn’t gonna open the safe so I said, c’mon, don’t make me shoot this pretty lil’ lady. And he opened it. I had him put the cash in the bag.” Merle motioned to the bag on the table and sucked hard on his cigarette. “He did. But instead of handing it over, he charged at me. I swear I didn’t mean to, but I shot the sorry bastard. But he got my mask off and this girl, this poor screamin’, cryin’ girl saw my face-”

“Back up - you fucking killed someone?” Daryl interrupted quietly. His arms dropped to his side. The one thing he never thought his brother could be capable of. He had grown up thinking the only person Merle could ever truly harm was himself.

“I - yeah,” Merle admitted. He broke eye contact to stub out his cigarette on the ashtray on the table, next to the black bag filled with cash. “I didn’t mean to. I had my gun on her one second and then he tried tackling me and… I just… I don’t even remember pulling the trigger. I just heard the sound and then he was on the ground… my ski mask in his hand… Bleeding from his head. And then I panicked. I couldn’t kill the girl, so I took her.”

“Took her?” Daryl asked sharply. His mouth was suddenly very dry. “Took her where?”

“Here,” Merle stated quietly. “She’s in the basement.”

“Here,” Daryl repeated with uncertainty.

“Here,” Merle said once more.

“Merle,” Daryl stated, his tone warning the mood that was coming on. “Did you hurt her?”

“She wouldn’t stop screamin’ after I took her out of the trunk and-”

“What did you do to her?!” Daryl yelled at his brother, causing him to jump slightly. Instead of waiting for an answer, though, he threw open the basement door and went running down the steps, because he himself had hid out in that basement bedroom before. He knew where his brother would have put her.

He paused outside that bedroom door, noting the chair from upstairs that his brother had used to jam the door shut. There were no sounds coming from inside and for the first time in a very long time, Daryl was terrified of what he was about to find.

He gently pulled the chair away from the door before pulling it open cautiously. On the bed, the very same bed he had slept in multiple times, was a girl. Or a lady, he supposed. In skinny jeans, with sneakers, and a torn, v-neck t-shirt that exposed just enough of her slim waist that he could see the hint of a tattoo on her side.

Her face was what caused him concern. She had dried blood on her forehead. It had dripped down her face and onto her t-shirt. Her lips were dry and the bottom one was cracked.

He swallowed thickly and ran a hand through his overgrown hair. “Shit,” he muttered. He stepped forward quietly until he was beside the bed, reaching for her, terrified to find her body cold and stiff.

Instead, she was quite warm and her pulse was steady.

Unfortunately, however, his gentle touch jerked her awake and she let out such a scream that he went stumbling back, hitting the dresser behind him roughly.

“Who are you?!” she shrieked at him, moving quickly off the bed and to the opposite side of the room.

He wasn’t even sure how to respond, but he held up both hands in defense. “I’m not going to hurt you. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay.”

“Am I - am I okay?” she asked, her voice trembling. She was slowly edging towards the door, but Daryl didn’t truly notice until she was bolting out the door and up the basement stairs.


	2. Two

Ella Mae Campbell was having a shitty day, but her one clean break to run? She had to take it. She ran up those basement stairs, daring only once to glance behind her to see how close the man who had awakened her was.

That one glance back caused her to trip on the top stair. She went tumbling forward into a pair of legs. The pair of legs had a pair of hands that lifted her up as if she weighed no more than a five-pound bag of potatoes.

Facing the man that had committed murder in front of her, her fists grew a mind of her own and began to flail on him until he pushed her to the floor roughly.

“Enough!” he yelled down at her angrily, wiping at the corner of his mouth to find the tiniest bit of blood.

Daryl came rushing up the stairs, halfway out of breath. “Don’t hurt her.”

“Please just let me go!” she sobbed. “Please, I promise you, I won’t tell anyone anything!”

“Just let her go, Merle,” Daryl growled. “I’ll drive her back to the city, no one has to know anyth-”

“It’s not just me that knows she’s here. Jason knows, too. He has her fucking purse, her phone, everything. He called me and said either I kill her or I take her to Atlanta with me tomorrow night… and I’d place a bet that’s what Montoya would do her, too. This is why I called you, Daryl, I don’t know what the fuck to do with her! I can’t kill her!”

“You can’t just beat her up, either!” Daryl yelled angrily. “Fuck - why the fuck do I have to deal with your shit all the time, why can’t you just get your fucking life together!”

“I left you out of so much, you don’t get to play this card-”

Yeah, I fucking do!” Daryl shouted, giving his brother a hard shove. “This girl is terrified, all because of you. You have never been able to think about anyone but your goddamn self.”

“I could have skipped town and Jason woulda come out here to kill you,” Merle growled in return. “I did this for you!”

“And look at where you got yourself! You fucking killed someone today! You kidnapped someone else! You think any of this is worth it? And what do you plan to do now, huh? Pay back that thug and just hand her over? Huh? I’m not gonna let that fucking happen.”

“Which is why you’re out here to begin with! I wasn’t gonna call, but I don’t know what the fuck to do with her,” Merle admitted, glancing down to Ella, who was hugging her knees to her chest and silently crying.

“Un-fucking-believable,” Daryl muttered, shaking his head. “You touch another hair on her head and I’ll turn you in myself.” He turned to Ella then, offering her a hand, which she was hesitant to accept. 

He pulled her up gently and ushered her into the kitchen, where he grabbed the first aid kit.

“Sit,” he told her quietly, motioning for the table. “Merle, go for a walk or something.”

“Gladly,” the older brother muttered, already heading towards the front door. Ella jumped when it slammed shut.

“What’s your name?” Daryl asked as he took the chair beside her. He kept his eyes on the first aid kit that he was unzipping.

“Ella,” she told him quietly.

“My name’s Daryl. I’m gonna get your face cleaned up.”

She watched him with cautious eyes, but he was gentle. He was silent, his eyes on the cut above her left eye and on the trail of blood that had dried on her face. 

“I’m sorry all of this happened to you,” he offered to her quietly. “I’ll make sure you make it back to Atlanta just fine.”

“B-but those other people know who I am? How can I…” she trailed off, blinking away tears quickly. “How could I ever go back and feel safe again?”

“I don’t… I don’t know,” Daryl admitted. “We’ll get something figured out. Just give me some time.”

“All I wanted to do was buy groceries and run errands today. I’m supposed to be walking my neighbor’s dog right now,” she explained with a sniffle, her eyes on the clock on the wall.

Daryl glanced over his shoulder at it. Half past five. “What kind of dog?”

“A pit bull lab mix. She’s getting really old, well, both of them are. The dog and Mrs. Henderson. The dog’s name is Tiny, she’s so sweet.”

“You have pets?” Daryl asked. He assumed a distraction would be favorable, over discussing what her future looked like.

“No. You?”

“Me? No, no pets.”

“Kids?” Ella asked next.

Daryl chuckled quietly. “No. Nothing. Just me and my idiot brother, apparently.”

She cracked a smile at that. “He is an idiot. But you don’t get to pick your family, right?”

He offered her a smirk as he packed the first aid kit back up. “Yeah. You have no idea. Look, can I ask you something?”

She glanced to his icy blue eyes. “I don’t think I’m in a situation to say no right now.”

“Please don’t try to run again.”

“Please don’t let your brother hurt me again,” she countered quietly.

“Deal,” Daryl told her.

Both fell silent when the front door opened up again. Merle’s heavy boots made their way into the kitchen, where he looked between the two of them.

“Well, how are we going to fake her death, then?” he asked loudly.

The discussion went on for nearly two hours. Ella was quiet through all of it; none of it sounded favorable to her in the slightest. She had much earlier in the day decided she did not like Merle in the slightest and that two hour conversation did nothing to sway her opinion. He made too many dirty jokes and never spoke to her directly; instead, he referred to her as ‘girl’ and ‘her’ rather than ever looking her in the eye.

“Blank bullets,” Merle said, tossing his hands up in the air. “That’s the last I got for ya’ll.”

Daryl straightened up a little bit. “That could work. Take a video and stop it right after the shot goes off.”

“Are we sure the bullets are blank?” Ella asked carefully.

“Got a box of ‘em in the bar. Play a little trick every now and again,” Merle said with a shrug. “Well, let’s get on it. I gotta leave tonight anyway.”

“Where are you goin’?” Daryl questioned. “I got work tomorrow, Merle.”

“Take her home with you, then. She likes you more. I got a date with Tina from the truck stop.”

Daryl made a face. “That’s disgusting and it doesn’t change the fact that you literally kidnapped her and now you’re dumping her off on me like it’s my problem? Jesus Christ, Merle!”

“Well listen, if you even tried to get pussy I would maybe feel for ya but hot damn, brother, maybe I just think you need to spend a night with a pretty lady and since you’re not I will.”

“Can you both just stop?” Ella asked timidly. “You sound like my parents about ten years ago. Leave me here, I’ll be fine. I won’t go anywhere. I have nowhere to go, anyway.”

“You’re not staying out here alone,” Daryl stated firmly. “Not if Jason knows he could find you out here.”

“Jason will think she’s dead, it’ll be fine,” Merle said without a care.

“You can come to my place,” the younger brother told her. “Got a second bedroom and all that.”

“No offense but I, um, feel a little weird about sleeping over with either of you so if you just leave me here, it’ll be fine.” Ella leaned back in her chair and looked between the both of them. 

“I see no problem with this. We’ll just lock’er in,” Merle added with a shrug.

“Not by yourself,” Daryl said firmly. “I’ll stay here, I guess. You better be back by seven in the morning.”

“Okay, well let’s get this fake death thing over with,” Merle said with a clap of his hands. 

Some time later, Ella was nervously following Daryl out into the woods. She glanced around in every direction, desperate to see something, anything, that would be a good indicator in which direction to escape. Merle was behind her though, so she did her best to be discreet.

Daryl took the video and Merle took the shot. With a gun pointed at her once again, it was easy to get the tears rolling. Pleas spewed from her mouth as she promised that she would do anything he wanted if he didn’t kill her.

Daryl glanced to Merle, who’s hand was trembling. For a second, he thought Merle might not be able to do it. A second later, though, he took the shot. The bullet struck her chest, right over her heart.

Ella inhaled sharply before falling over without even attempting to act. Daryl ended the video and hurried over to her as his brother did the opposite, moving quickly away from them, only stopping after the first few yards to lean over and empty his stomach.

“You okay?” Daryl asked her.

“It - it hurts,” she gasped, the wind knocked out of her. She accepted Daryl’s hand and he pulled her upright, his eyes on the harsh red mark on her chest.

“It looks like it,” he murmured. “C’mon, we’ll get some ice for it.” He hid how shaken he truly was by the whole act - at least, he hoped she didn’t pick up on the way his own hands were trembling.

Merle was on his way out by the time they reached the house. He didn’t make eye contact or say a single word as he passed them.

Daryl ignored it. He got a bag of frozen veggies out of the freezer and wrapped them in a dish towel before handing them over.

“Thank you,” Ella told him quietly.

She sat at the kitchen table while he rummaged around until he had a makeshift dinner started for the two of them. She held the ice to her chest and rested her chin in her hand, elbow on the table, watching Daryl silently work.

“Why are you being this nice to me?” she asked him.

“Why not? You don’t deserve to be here,” he countered. “My brother’s a fuckin’ asshole, always has been. I’ve been cleaning up his messes for… ever, I think.”

“You really think this video is going to work?” she asked after a moment. “And you really think I’ll be able to get back to Atlanta?”

“I hope so,” he replied, glancing over to her. “You, uh, got some leaves in your hair still.”

Her hand went directly up to her hair, pulling out a small twig first. “Oh, geez. Where’s the bathroom in here?”

Daryl took the couch while she took the basement bedroom. His mind was thinking way too quickly to fall asleep, plus he wasn’t totally positive that Ella wasn’t going to try to sneak out on him. 

His suspicions were correct. Ella was in the basement, watching the clock tick. She figured if she waited late enough into the night, and if she walked quietly enough, she could get far enough to have a good head start.

Where she was going, she had no idea, but she figured getting out while Merle was gone was the best plan she could have.

Around three, she took the steps one by one, slowly, testing each one for a creak before she continued onto the next. 

At the top of the stairs she paused, listening for any sort of sound at all. She continued only when she heard the telltale sound of his deep, slow breaths.

Ella made it to the end of the driveway, but there were no other streetlights or anything, leaving her completely in the dark. She paced, indecisive, on whether or not continuing on in the dark was worth risking her life or not. 

She decided it was not, which was why Daryl found her sitting on the doorstep about three hours later.

“Nice mornin’ to watch the sunrise,” he commented, his voice still gravelly with sleep.

“Yeah,” she responded in a dull tone. 

Daryl took a seat beside her, groaning as he sat. “You weren’t out here to watch the sunrise, were you?”

“Are you saying that because we’re not facing east?” she asked.

“You know your directions?” Daryl asked with a smirk.

“Obviously not, or I wouldn’t still be here.”

“Now c’mon, I know for a fact that bed down there is way more comfortable than the couch I was on.”

“I’m literally being held hostage in the middle of nowhere by the brother of a guy who I watched commit murder,” she responded with a wavering voice. “I’m terrified.”

“I’m not gonna hurt you, Ella,” he told her quietly. “I promise you that.”

She let out a frustrated groan. “Whatever, you can say whatever you want. You’re not the one stuck here against your will.”

“You think I want to be here?” he countered. 

“No,” Ella admitted, wiping at her eyes. “So, now what? You go to work and I wait here freaking out that your brother’s going to come back to kill me for real this time?”

“How ‘bout I call in and use a sick day so you don’t have to worry about him buggin’ you,” Daryl suggested quietly.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Sure I do,” he responded lightly. “But we might have to go back to bed for a few hours.”

She glanced over to him, eyes watering, bottom lip quivering. “I’m so scared, Daryl.”

“It’s going to be okay,” he told her firmly. “Now, go get some sleep. You look like you haven’t had much lately.”

She offered a light laugh. “Yeah. Is it all the bruises?”

“Might be,” Daryl offered with a shrug. “Go on in, get some rest.”


	3. Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has read along so far and left comments and kudos!

Ella had followed Daryl’s advice on getting some rest; she didn’t wake up again until nearly noon. From there, she took a hot shower and put on a set of borrowed clothes so she could run her dirty ones through the wash. They sat on the couch, watching old western movies for a while before Merle showed up to get the bag of money.

“I’ll be back tonight,” he said firmly.

Daryl stood up from the couch. “You already sent that video, right?”

Merle nodded once but didn’t offer any reassuring words. “When I’m back, we’ll figure out what to do.”

Ella kept quiet. She watched Daryl follow his older brother out the front door, correctly assuming it was for a private conversation. She turned her eyes back to the television screen and did her best not to be concerned… as hard as that was.

“We ain’t keepin’ her around,” Merle snapped at him once they were alone. “No matter how cozy ya’ll get.”

“We - we’re not cozy,” Daryl defended with a hint of annoyance. “And I know. And she knows. You think she’s going to want to hang around? No way. I’m gonna take her into town for dinner-”

“No way, man,” Merle snapped, stepping up to his brother. “You think that’s a good idea? For all the people that’s known us since we were kids to see you with the missing girl? Her face is all over the news. If she’s gonna be seen, it’s gonna be on her own doing, not yours.”

Daryl hated to admit Merle was right on anything, but he did see the logic on that topic. “Fine. Just… hurry back so we can get this figured out.”

He returned inside and once again raided the cupboards for food. There wasn’t much, so he weighed his options. Either he would have to take her with him or he had to leave her alone. Either way, Merle was likely going to be gone for at least seven hours, and he was hungry.

“Everything okay?”

Her quiet voice made him accidentally slam an empty cupboard shut. “Yeah, shit. Sorry. Just hungry and there’s not much here.” He paused, looking to her wide hazel eyes and caved, without even meaning to. “Let’s run into town. Hit up a drive-through. Sound okay?”

She froze for a second. “You - are you serious?”

“Well… yeah, as long as you don’t try to-”

“I won’t. I promise. Please, get me out of this house, even if it’s for ten minutes.”

Daryl offered a smirk. “Alright. Let’s go.”

Ella paid attention to each and every turn, letting the path away from that house in the woods burn into her memory, seated in his passenger seat with her seatbelt buckled tightly. It wasn’t that she wanted to run off on Daryl, it was more so for her own knowledge when Merle returned… because she had a feeling Merle was down to do anything besides murder to get her out of the picture. She felt as if the clock measuring her safety was ticking back into the red - very dangerous.

“Burgers okay?” Daryl asked as they reached the edge of town. 

“That sounds great,” she responded with a small smile. “So, is this like a grab food and run situation or…?”

Daryl thought on it. “I got a spot we can go to.” It was away from people, so they wouldn’t be seen, but not too far out of the way to get back to Gary’s rundown old house before dark.

They ordered too much food, and off they went yet again.

“This is pretty,” Ella commented when the truck bounced over a ridge, revealing a small pond with the sun setting in the background.

“Used to come here a lot, when I was a kid, to get away from my dad,” Daryl revealed quietly as he parked. “Took a while, but I learned how to skip rocks pretty good.”

Ella laughed quietly. “That’s cool. And, thanks for the food. I have to say… these fries are my downfall.”

“Downfall? You’re skinny as hell.”

“Hm,” she disagreed. “I think I got lucky with the gene pool. I’m not fit by any means. Another reason I’m not even going to bother running. You are way fitter than me.”

“I hate running,” he murmured in return, accepting the foil-wrapped burger she handed to him. “You said your parents split?”

“Um, yeah. I was twelve when my mom first moved out.” Ella munched on a fry thoughtfully, staring out at the cotton-candy sky. “It was hard. They both have issues, to this day. My mom remarried an asshole and my dad has dated girls I went to college with.”

Daryl snorted. “If he can get ‘em, then…”

She looked over to him curiously. “You don’t strike me as the type to chase after young, gorgeous women.”

“Is that an insult?” he asked, semi-playfully.

“No!” she exclaimed. “No way. I just mean, you’ve not once even… looked at me. I wish I could say the same about your brother.”

“I’m sorry that he scared you. And that he hurt you.” Daryl watched her sip on her coke. “There’s a time and a place to let a girl know you’re checking her out and it’s definitely not when your brother has kidnapped her.”

She offered a weak smile as she unwrapped her burger. “Well, either way, I appreciate it. You’ve been nice to me and I didn’t expect that. I expected to be dead by now… or worse.”

***

"Coked-Out" Jason had passed Daryl Dixon’s truck in Johnstown. He spotted the girl in the passenger seat and knew in an instant that the video Merle had sent the night before was nothing but one more lie. He took the opportunity to drive out to the old house in the woods, knowing no one else would be home. He hid his own vehicle, a bike that had seen much better days, deep in the woods off the driveway. He jimmied open the backdoor and crept inside, knowing it was empty, but that he needed to find the perfect hiding spot inside the home in order for the plan to go correctly.

He did, and then he waited. He listened to them arrive back at the house an hour later. He listened to her gentle laughs and Daryl’s quiet words. He trembled in the closet he had hidden in, a knife in his hands just in case they were smart enough to notice that the back door had been pried open.

They weren’t.

Jason listened to an old western movie start. He waited longer, though his fingers were twitching to use the blade, knowing that when he did emerge, they wouldn’t see him right away. He waited until his phone read midnight, knowing Merle would still be hours from arriving back - if Montoya let him live. He waited long past the last trip down the hallway to the bathroom had passed, the bathroom that was directly across the closet he hid in.

And then he made his move.

Quietly, he exited the closet. The television was playing credits along with some old folky-country song. He peeked around the corner; Ella was out cold with her head rested on Daryl’s thigh and Daryl had his head tilted back, snoring quietly.

“Ya’ll make a cute picture,” he stated loudly. He grinned at the way Daryl straightened up right away, his hand protectively gripping her close to him. “Too bad it’s all gotta end.”

Ella sat up quickly, sucking in a deep breath. She recognized that voice and the large knife in his hands. She remembered him meeting Merle in the parking lot, and especially the sensation of a warm blade against her throat. She swallowed thickly.

“You’re not hurting her,” Daryl growled, standing up quickly.

“Stop!” she cried to him, standing on her own two feet. “Don’t get yourself killed over me.” She stepped in front of him, tears already forming in her eyes. “Please don’t hurt him. It’s just me you want.”

“Oh, and don’t I want you.” Jason’s eyes flicked downwards. “You should see the pictures they’ve used on the news. On the beach, in a bikini. I’m going to fuck you like no one has before, Miss Ella Mae Campbell.”

“You’re not gonna touch her.” Daryl pushed her out of the way forcefully, moving forward quickly to do anything he could to knock the knife out of the guy’s hands. He managed a punch to Jason’s face and felt the way his nose cracked from the force. The other man slashed out with the knife, just barely missing Daryl; Jason then shoved him hard, sending Daryl flying backward into the coffee table.

Ella gasped at the sound when Daryl’s head struck the wooden table. His body was limp on the floor, clearly unconscious. She met Jason’s eyes and tried to run, but she barely reached the hallway before he shoved her past the hall and into the kitchen.

He caught his fist in her hair and shoved her to the floor roughly. Jason spoke words that didn’t even register with her brain as his free hand yanked at the button on her jeans.

She screamed, “NO!” and fought with all her might until she was out from beneath him. She went running, but not for the door, for the utensil drawer instead. She went for it because she knew she had spotted one when Daryl had searched for food earlier in the day.

Her fist yanked open the drawer and then wrapped around the handle of the biggest knife she saw first. She turned to find him close behind - too close - his knife slashed towards her and she raised both arms in front of her face and neck, crying out when the blade drew blood.

Ella didn’t wait for the pain to truly kick in. She lunged at him; he knocked her to the dirty linoleum floor, once more on top of her, wrangling the knife from her hands.

For a second she froze; the tip of his knife trailed from her sternum downwards, effectively cutting her skin and her t-shirt.

“I’m gonna enjoy every second of seeing you struggle,” he breathed in her face.

“No, you’re not,” Ella responded quietly before lifting up her knee with as much force as she could muster.

Jason let out a groan and she took the opportunity to shove him off of her. She reached blindly around the floor for the kitchen knife, cutting her fingers in the process. He grabbed onto the sleeve of her t-shirt, yanking hard so that it tore down the middle even more.

The first time that dull kitchen knife pierced his abdomen, Jason howled in pain. He slashed again with the knife, catching her upper arm, but she didn’t stop repeating that motion, reminding herself even then of a scene from a horror flick.

When blood was gurgling out of his mouth and she realized she was out of breath, she stopped and scrambled backward to get away from his twitching, dying body, sobbing out of fear or relief or possibly both.

And then she hurried to the living room. Her bloody hands tugged on Daryl’s arms, his shirt, and finally slapped his cheek hard, bringing him back to consciousness.

“Are you okay?” she sobbed.

He sat up so quickly that they knocked heads. Daryl’s swift eyes took in her battered, bleeding, crying form and then looked around.

“Where’s he at?” he grumbled, groggy from being knocked out.

“I-in the kitchen,” she stuttered.

He was swift to get on his feet and rush to the kitchen. Ella sat there on the floor, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“I’m alive,” she whispered to herself before hugging her knees to her chest. “I’m alive.”

Daryl ran a hand through his hair and then looked at the glistening red he had accumulated. His tiny head wound was nothing, though, compared to the massacre that was the kitchen. There was no way to tell what blood belonged to who, but he did know for certain that Coked-Out Jason was no longer a threat, considering his eyes were wide open and his body was then still on the linoleum floor.

When he entered the living room with the first aid kit in his hands, Ella was silent, unmoving, staring off into nothing.

“Hey,” he said quietly, but she didn’t respond. “You did the right thing. C’mon, let’s get cleaned up.”

She met his eyes and slowly stood up. Blood was dripping down her left arm, both forearms, and her hands. She followed Daryl to the bathroom, where he had her sit on the sink so he could check out and clean up her wounds.

For a moment only she had been numb, but as soon as he began to wrap her cuts in towels, she was sobbing all over again.

“I can’t ever go back,” she quietly said to him, her normally hazel eyes a bright green from crying. “I-I just killed a man.”


	4. Four

Merle Dixon was trying to rush back to Gary’s house without risking getting pulled over. Montoya had given him the chilling news that Jason had witnessed Daryl in town with Ella in the passenger seat. He was pissed about that and he was scared to lose his brother. He had his cut, twenty grand, of the money and the blessing that he was free from Montoya, as long as the girl was dead and Jason made it back.

A three-and-a-half-hour drive never seemed to take so long. He chain-smoked cigarettes until he ran out. And then he blasted music to try to keep his mind off things.

It didn’t work.

He came to a halt at the end of the long drive, where Daryl’s truck was parked. It was 3:15 in the morning and Merle took a bet that every single goddamn light in that house was on.

He hurried out of his car and inside, walking down the hall and turning left to the kitchen first.

“What the FUCK!” he shouted angrily before stomping through the rest of the house until he found the pair in the bathroom. “What is this!”

Daryl finished his task at hand - bandaging the last cut on her upper left arm. “We all need to not panic.”

“Not - not panic!” Merle shouted at him. “Do you know what they’re going to do to us? Do you know what Montoya told me to my face? He said, no one believed your little video, so he sent Jason up here to take care of her. When I got there, Montoya said Jason saw ya’ll in town. How fuckin’ stupid are you?!” 

Daryl turned to his brother, puffing up his chest just a bit. “Don’t start a fight. Not right now.”

Merle’s shifty eyes looked to Ella. “This is about her, huh? You think it’s your fuckin’ duty to protect her? Now who’s the murderer!” he shouted in his brother’s face.

“It was me,” Ella stated quietly. “It wasn’t Daryl.”

He stared at her then, jaw nearly to the floor. “You’ve gotta be fuckin’ kiddin’ me. Well, ya’ll better move fast. He’s gonna send people if he doesn’t hear from Jason soon.”

“I have a plan,” Daryl called after his brother, who was storming down the hall. “You still in with Randall in Mobile?”

Merle stopped walking but didn’t turn around. He rested one hand against the wall and stared down at the bloody mess on the living room floor and the drips that led to the kitchen. “Yeah, I’m still good in his books. We need to get out soon, and take care of this mess.”

Daryl looked to Ella. “Finish up in here. In my truck, there should be a spare shirt you can wear. We need to get rid of these clothes.”

She glanced down to her torn t-shirt, finally realizing that her bra had been on display the entire time. She murmured an affirmative response and Daryl left her alone in the bathroom to chase after his brother.

“We go buy new identities and get out of the country for a bit,” Daryl told him. “And she’s coming with. And you’re not arguing on that.”

“No, she ain’t!” Merle snarled back, turning to face his brother with both fists clenched.

“She is, Merle, ‘cause you got her into all this mess and now she can’t go back,” Daryl told him calmly. “You can be mad. You can hit me, if you want. But that’s not changing the fact that I’m not leavin’ her alone to deal with this.”

They both paused at the sound of the front door opening and swinging shut. Daryl glanced out the window and saw Ella headed to his truck.

“She’s been through enough as it is right now. She goes back to Atlanta, she’ll turn your ass in and then she’ll get killed by Montoya. She’s a good person, she doesn’t deserve that. She’s scared enough as it is. Either you come with me and her, or me and her go off on our own.”

Merle’s jaw clenched tightly. “So all it comes down to is just a piece of pussy between us? What happened to blood being thicker than water?”

Daryl motioned around the newly crimson kitchen. “I’m pretty fuckin’ sick of cleanin’ up blood that don’t belong to me, Merle.” He waited for his brother to clap back, but as angry as he looked, he didn’t seem to have anything to say. “We’re gonna soak the house in gas and light it on fire. Hopefully, by the time they find it, we’re in Mobile. You’re right, we do need to leave right away, but I gotta stop by my house first. You either meet us there or we meet you in Mobile. I already broke up my phone... broke the sim card. You should do the same.”

Again, Merle was silent. He stormed out of the house and Daryl watched through the window to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid to try to hurt Ella. Instead, his brother went to his own car.

Daryl went outside, too. They had a lot of work to do.

After packing up a duffel bag of belongings, Daryl retreated to the garage, where Ella was still sleeping soundly in the passenger seat of his truck. Merle was in the driveway, chain-smoking a new pack of cigarettes.

He gently shook her awake. “Hey, you wanna use the bathroom or anything?”

She nodded sleepily and fumbled her way out of his truck and inside his house. Daryl stayed behind in the garage, figuring she would have no problem finding her way through his small house to the bathroom. 

Ella gazed over the kitchen; neat and pristine. Dishes had been left on the drying rack, but nothing else was out of place. A hardhat hung on a wall hook beside an orange vest. She continued on.

After using the restroom and struggling through washing her hands with all the tiny cuts covered by Daryl’s handiwork, she stared at her reflection for a few moments. She looked awful. Daryl’s clean t-shirt smelled of man-stuff, like grease and outdoors. That didn’t bother her, though, it was the way it hung off her frame that made her look like an abused child. Her face was bruised, her chest was worse from the blank bullet. 

Her eyes were red-rimmed and still green. She felt as if she could sleep for a million years and still be tired. 

Oh, and then there were the cuts. The sliced skin that ached with each movement, covered in antibiotic cream and bandages. Her hair was a mess, so she opened drawers and cabinet doors until she found a comb. She struggled through the tangles until it looked half-way decent and then stuck the comb in her back pocket, taking a moment to make sure her split ends were wiped out of the sink.

She had nothing other than her jeans, her underwear, and a blood-spattered bra. She felt her eyes water up and refused to look to the mirror again. She shut off the light and went back to the garage.

They were on their way to Mobile, where Daryl had promised they would find someone who could provide new identities. She fought the sleep at first, wanting to watch where she was being taken, but she lost that battle and didn’t wake until they were six hours to the southeast.

“Here,” Daryl told her quietly, pushing a hoodie towards her. “We gotta walk a ways and if someone…”

She didn’t need him to finish that statement, she already knew what she looked like, and what she would think if she saw someone in her condition on the street, walking around with two rugged-looking men. She pulled on the hoodie and they were on their way once more.

Randall was a guy who stood well over six feet tall, weighed somewhere around three hundred pounds or so, and sported a shaved head with a bushy red beard. Ella was quietly terrified, especially when he reached forward to push the hood off her head.

“Shit, girl, who did this to you?” he questioned. “I’ll fuck ‘em up.”

“She’s fine,” Merle muttered dryly. “We need a favor. New IDs for all of us. What’s that run?”

“Just IDs or the whole history? Tax records, social security numbers, passports, bank accounts, credit history, all that.”

“The whole history,” Daryl spoke up firmly.

“Shit, what did ya’ll do?” Randall asked as he stroked his beard. “Look, your face ain’t gonna work like this. You need to go see Tanya.”

“Who is Tanya?” Ella questioned quietly. She followed his finger to a closed door and glanced over to Daryl, who offered a small shrug. With terror dripping through her veins, she went alone into the room.

Daryl returned his gaze to Randall. “She better come out of that room without another scratch on her.”

Randall laughed quietly and stroked his beard twice. “I was thinkin’ she was my payment. Leave her with me, you don’t have to pay me a dime for this.

“Fuck off,” Merle grumbled before motioning to his brother. “He ain’t ever gonna go for that. How much for all this, anyway?”

“For three of ya’ll, nine grand,” Randall stated firmly. “Gimme a night with her and it’ll be half that.”

“No,” Daryl said firmly. “Not happenin’.”

“Alright, alright. Let’s get this shit started then. Gotta get pictures and then it’ll take me a week to get everything together for ya’ll.”

“Can’t be any quicker?” Merle asked with a hint of hope in his voice.

“Nah, not unless you want them to look janky as fuck. The shit I’m gonna get you will get you through any airport, past any cop, it’s the real deal. Payment up front,” Randall added. “Which one of you got the money?”

“I got the money,” Merle muttered. He turned away, counting out the bills. “You sure we can’t whore out your…”

Daryl glanced over to his brother, then followed his gaze to Ella, who had come out the door in a change of clothes and makeup covering her bruises and wounds. Her hair had been curled, as well, making him wonder how someone had got so much done in such a short amount of time.

A heavy hand clapped down on Daryl’s shoulder. “Tanya does good work, don’t she?”

Ella fidgeted under the three sets of eyes. “What?”

“You look hot as hell, lil’ mama,” Randall spoke up. “Ya boy here is lucky.”

Daryl felt the tips of his ears go warm, but he didn’t bother to correct him. He looked away from her in that black summer dress and turned to Randall. “Let’s get this over with.”

Ella went first, thankful the makeup Tanya had slathered on covered her blushing cheeks. Next was Merle, so she stood beside Daryl, arms hugging herself tightly. 

“We gotta get those bandages changed,” he murmured to her.

She glanced up to his icy blue eyes, silently wondering why he even cared in the slightest. “It’s your turn.” She nodded towards Randall, who was eyeing her with a grin on his face.

When they were finished, they walked down the alleyway. Merle was a few feet behind them, lighting a cigarette. Daryl glanced over his shoulder, his eyes questioning why his brother was walking so slow.

“Just enjoyin’ the view, brother,” he said slyly.

Ella stopped dead in her tracks for a moment before turning and stomping over to Merle. She first smacked the cigarette out of his hand and then brought her knee up between his legs forcefully, causing him to groan and lean into her. 

“This is as close as you’ll ever have me to your dick. You got it?” she asked him quietly before giving him a rough shove away from her.

She ignored Daryl’s smirk as she continued forward. “I’m hungry,” she announced loudly. 

He waited for his brother to get his breath back before they continued following her again.

“She’s right, we gotta eat, and then we gotta find a place to stay for a week,” Daryl told Merle quietly. “And figure out what’s after that.”

“Shoulda killed that bitch,” Merle muttered. 

“You deserved it,” Daryl responded evenly. “Asshole.”

“Like you ain’t enjoying that little black dress.” Merle pulled out another cigarette.

Daryl glanced forward again, catching the sway of her hips. “Forty years old and you still ain’t learned how to look without speaking your mind? No wonder all you ever get is Tina from the truck stop.”

“You tryin’ to tell me you been secretly slayin’ pussy or somethin’?” Merle asked with a snicker.

“I do alright.” 

When they reached the vehicles, Ella was impatiently waiting by Daryl’s truck. 

“There’s a diner on the corner,” she stated firmly. “We’ll go there.”

“Miss fuckin’ bossypants,” Merle muttered, though he was quickly silenced when the small brunette shot him a glare. “Let’s go.”

Daryl wasn’t so sure he had ever seen someone as dainty as Ella smash a burger along with an entire basket of fries so quickly. She sucked down her coke and stood up from the table. “I’ll be outside.”

Merle gave Daryl a look as she walked out of the diner, but Daryl merely shrugged. He wasn’t about to chase her down. He had no doubts that she needed space.

“There’s this old trailer park on the south side of town, they got a motel there. We can rent out a room for a week,” Merle said quietly. “Used to buy a room there by the hour.”

Daryl met his brother’s eyes. “That how you got the clap?”

“The first time,” he admitted with a grin.


	5. Five

Ella stared in disgust at the motel room. There were two queen beds and an old tube TV. The bathroom wasn’t exactly clean and she was pretty sure something sizeable had just skittered across the dark, dirty carpet. The next room over was loud and she had no doubts on what business was going on in there.

“So ya’ll like sharing a bed?” she asked them, her eyes intense.

“I know sure as hell I ain’t sharin’ with you,” Merle snapped back.

“That’s the best thing I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth,” she returned.

“Listen up, bitch-”

“Stop,” Daryl interrupted loudly. “Look, we need to be low-key, alright? We paid in cash, extra to not have our names on the record. Last thing we need is to bring attention to ourselves. And I sure as hell don’t want to listen to you two fuckin’ argue right now.”

“You think anyone’s going to hear us over that?” Ella asked, one hand on her hip and the other motioning to the next room as the moans grew even louder.

“Fuckin’ prissy bitch can’t even handle some toe-curlin’ fun,” Merle muttered. “I’m goin’ out.”

“When you comin’ back?” Daryl asked as his brother headed for the door.

“I don’t fuckin’ know,” he snapped back before slamming the door shut on his way out.

“So what now?” Ella asked quietly.

“We wait, I guess.” Daryl looked to her in her black dress. “Since you’re all… lookin’ normal, you wanna get out of this room for a while?”

A genuine smile spread over her face, brightening up her hazel eyes. “I thought you’d never ask.”

“We ought to get you some clothes and whatever you need.”

“I don’t exactly have money,” she pointed out to him timidly.

“I got some cash from Merle. And before he tries to get it back… we better get you what you need.”

In the truck and on their way to the nearest mall, Ella glanced over to him. “You two discuss what we’re doing after this week?”

Daryl nodded and kept his eyes on the road. “Yeah. Talked about getting an RV and headed for Mexico.”

“Why Mexico?”

“To get out of the States for a few months, let the dust settle.” Daryl hesitated before looking over to her again. “Your face is probably still all over the news in Georgia.”

He had never in his thirty-three years gone shopping with a woman. He also had never in his life been so willing to open up his wallet so many times. But then again, she had nothing, and they were sort of starting a brand new life.

The ultimate challenge was following her into the lingerie store. Everything pink and lacy and black and red. He tried to pay no attention to the items she picked out.

An elbow brushed into his and he looked over to another man, who was nodding towards Ella. “That yours?”

“Uh, not exactly.”

The man chuckled quietly. “I get what you mean. Mine wouldn’t like me sayin’ that either. But she’s fine as hell, man.”

“...Thanks,” Daryl told him with a hint of unease.

When Ella and Daryl returned to the motel room late in the evening, Merle was still gone. It was a quiet night; Ella was thankful Merle wasn’t around while Daryl was concerned with where he was and what he was up to.

She fell asleep in the bed furthest away from the door in the middle of a Discovery channel show. Daryl turned off the lamp on her side of the nightstand and continued to wait impatiently for his brother to show back up. 

Ella woke up with a start when the mattress sunk in beside her. It took all of two seconds for her to fly out of bed and as far away from her perpetrator as she could.

Daryl stood up quickly, holding up both hands. He motioned to Merle in the other bed, lying on his back, snoring loudly, taking up the entire mattress.

“You scared me!” she whispered.

“I tried sleeping in the truck,” Daryl admitted quietly. “I didn’t want to wake you. Is this okay?”

With her heart pounding in her chest, she started out shaking her head no and ended up nodding yes. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“I’ll stay on my side,” he assured her. The exhaustion showed on his face and in his red-rimmed eyes.

Ella nodded quickly. “Okay. Um, please don’t ruin the tiny bit of respect I still have for you… okay?”

“I won’t,” he responded. “I promise.”

She got back into bed and Daryl laid down on his side. She faced him, watching him turn off the lamp. Merle’s snores were loud and obnoxious which made falling back asleep next to impossible. 

Daryl was true to his word. He fell asleep rather quickly, facing away from her on his side.

The week passed slowly for Ella, who spent most of the time stuck indoors waiting for her injuries to heal up. She knew the cuts would leave pretty intense scars but part of her had already come to terms with that; they signified what she had been through. A robbery. A kidnapping. Being held against her will. Murdering someone. Totally normal things for a young adult.

Most nights, she woke from nightmares. She dreamt of Jason’s hands tearing her clothes off, pinning her down, and slicing her skin over and over again. She dreamt of Merle losing control, of him beating her again. His actions when they were awake probably prompted that, she thought, considering how angry he was towards her.

Speaking of Merle, he was up to some shady business that Daryl couldn’t figure out. He kept bringing in money and he kept coming home late into the night beyond messed up. Daryl wasn’t sure what drugs he was on, he simply knew it was more than just alcohol.

Daryl was preparing for the move. He had someone lined up to buy his truck for cash, someone who was happy to do it illegally. That bit of cash, he knew he would hide from Merle. He had been searching for an RV - something that ran well, but wasn’t overly expensive. He had discarded everything that marked him as Daryl Dixon, other than his truck. All his credit cards were gone. His driver’s license. His bank card. Everything but a bag of clothes and toiletries.

He had ended up in Ella’s bed twice more. He kept to his word; he stayed on his side and even when her cold feet pressed up against his legs, he pulled away. Plus, he let her steal the blankets without trying to tug them back, and that was saying a lot.

On the seventh day, they piled into Daryl’s truck, Ella in the middle, and made their way through the city to Randall’s alleyway once again. Ella’s bruises were still there, but had faded enough that dollar store makeup worked well enough to cover them up. Merle had complained about how long she took to get ready before they left, but Daryl and Ella both suspected he was going through some sort of withdrawal, even if they didn’t mention it to each other. 

They parked and all got out of the truck. Ella paid no mind to anything other than heading towards the alley, but both men gave a hard glare to a younger guy eyeing her up and down like she was a shiny diamond in the middle of a coal mine.

“Keep walkin’, bud,” Merle told him with a scowl. “Trust me, you don’t really want her.”

The guy looked confused for a second. “You her dad?”

Daryl snorted and Ella finally glanced over her shoulder to see what the hold up was.

“Come on,” she told them both impatiently, not bothering to wait before crossing the street.

They waited at the door, all anxious for their own reasons. When it opened up and Tanya showed her beautiful blonde self, Ella relaxed slightly.

“Darling,” she said in her strong Romanian accent. “Please, come in. Randall has been waiting for you.”

Ella followed her first and the brothers went in behind her. 

“Love that dress,” Tanya told her next. “You are too adorable. We should grab a drink tonight.”

Daryl and Merle shared a quick look, both puzzled.

They went in through the next doorway, where Randall was seated at a table, separating out lines of cocaine.

“Hey, it’s my favorite ladies! Who wants a bump?”

“I do,” Merle stated confidently.

“I got your shit back last night, looks pristine. Here,” Randall said, waving a large envelope.

Ella was the closest, so she took it in her hands. Without bothering to wait for anyone else, she opened it up. The first passport was Merle’s, in the name of Merle Wolfe. Second was Daryl Wolfe. She tossed them to each of them before pulling her own out.

Ella Wolfe. She frowned and pulled out a sheet of paper.

“What the fuck is this?!” she questioned angrily, turning to Randall, holding up the marriage certificate.

Daryl stepped forward and tugged it out of her fingers. His eyes gazed over the marriage certificate, complete with an official seal. “Fuckin’ hell.”

“Thought you’d be happy about it. You got your man for good now, y’know? Tanya’s been badgering me for months for a ring.”

“Lies,” Tanya calmly said, looking at her manicured nails. “You know I would never marry a man like you.”

Merle was chuckling behind them as he pieced it together. “Congrats, lil’ bro.”

Ella shoved the folder into Daryl’s hands and stormed out. He looked to Randall, who was too occupied snorting a line of coke, and decided it wasn’t worth arguing.

“Let’s go,” Daryl muttered.

“Tell Ella to call me!” Tanya called after them.

Merle’s chuckles turned into laughter as soon as they reached the alleyway, though he stopped when Daryl shot him a glare. “You gotta admit you coulda ended up with someone way uglier.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Daryl growled at him.

When they reached the truck, Daryl was slightly dismayed to see her wiping away tears.

“Not a fucking word from you,” she told Merle with a shaky voice. 

They got in the truck and went on a very quiet, uncomfortable ride back to the motel room.

“I got… business. You getting that RV today still?” Merle asked outside.

Daryl nodded. “Yeah. We leave tomorrow morning.”

“Fan-fucking-tastic,” Ella muttered, holding her hand out to Daryl. “Key. You should leave, too.”

He offered a half-hearted wave to Merle but refused to hand over the key and simply leave. They went inside the room and he took one look at her watery eyes, seeing the way she was taking in deep, slow breaths.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” he told her.

“When does this end?” she asked him, the crack in her voice the start of tears. “All of this has to stop soon. I can’t take any more, Daryl. I’ve left my family and friends forever. I’ve given up everything. I came with you here, I have to deal with your idiot brother, I have to run away to Mexico, and I have to be married to a total stranger?”

He chewed on the inside of his lip and nodded slowly. “I don’t like any of this either.”

“Can you just leave? I really want to be alone for a while.”

He watched her hug herself and nodded again. “Yeah. I’ll be back in a few hours. Ella… I am sorry.”

She sniffled, nodded, and waited for him to leave. She paced. She had the passport in her back pocket and she wished she had grabbed more.

Ella packed up her bag. She had forty dollars in her mostly empty purse, a new wardrobe, and a new last name.

After twenty minutes, she left the motel room, intending to never see a Dixon or ‘Wolfe’ again.


	6. Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> I hope you are all enjoying so far! I would love some feedback if you feel inclined :)

Daryl returned without a truck and with an RV. He found Merle lazily watching television with a packed bag beside him. He glanced to the bathroom; the door was open and the light was on, but Ella was not inside.

“Where is she?” he asked quietly.

“Figured she was with her husband,” Merle said before letting out a loud cackle of laughter.

“She’s not,” Daryl said, mild panic building up inside of him. 

“Think she’d go to the cops?” his brother asked, sitting up a little straighter.

“I don’t know,” Daryl admitted, running a hand through his hair. “Guess there ain’t much we can do right now. You sell your car?”

“Yeah. Got two grand.”

Daryl nodded. His eyes were scanning the room, but the cheetah print carry-on luggage that she had bought was gone, as was her small stash of makeup in the bathroom.

“Fuck,” he muttered.

It took some convincing, but Daryl finally got his brother to agree to stay one more night. He went out once more to walk a few blocks, hoping he would spot the cheetah print suitcase in some little coffee shop she would describe as cute, but he didn’t see any signs of Ella anywhere. He hardly slept when he got back, tossing and turning the entire night. The thought of Ella out there on her own had him sick to his stomach with pure guilt.

But none of them were innocent anymore. He convinced himself he wouldn’t mind waking up to the police at their motel door. He figured if that happened, he might do a bit of time and stop feeling so guilty. Not to mention, he was the only Dixon without a prison stay in his history.

Instead, when he got up and went to put his bag in the RV, he found Ella asleep with her back to their room door.

“What the hell are you doing?” he questioned immediately. “Someone coulda fuckin’ killed you!”

“I’m fine,” she mumbled. “I just got back like an hour ago.”

He offered her a hand and then tugged her up to her feet with more force than he truly meant. “I thought you went to the cops.”

“No. I bought a bus ticket to Vegas and then thought about how terrible that sounded.” Her eyes were red-rimmed and green again. “If the offer is still on the table, I’ll go to Mexico with you.”

He nodded and shrugged all at the same time. “Yeah. We’re getting ready to leave now. C’mon, I’ll take your bag.”

“Daryl?” she asked quietly.

“Hm?” He met those wide green eyes once more and then was surprised when she wrapped her arms around his midsection. Her cheek pressed against his chest and he had no idea what to do with his hands. “What’s this about?”

“Thanks for still being here.”

By seven, they were on the interstate. Merle took up the main bed in the back, shutting the door to get some sleep. Ella sat in the passenger seat, watching out the window through oversized sunglasses. The twelve-hour ride from Mobile to Pearsall, Texas took more along the lines of fourteen and by the time Daryl had figured out how to set up the RV to water, sewage, and power, Merle was half-drunk and mostly high after buying a five-dollar joint off a teenager.

Ella had gone out with some cash to pick up some dinner, which made Daryl nervous all over again. She came back a half an hour later, though, with two large bags of fast food. They ate outside, watching the family across from their RV laugh and chatter.

Ella got up without bothering to finish her food. She went inside, not caring about sleeping arrangements in the slightest, and locked herself in the bedroom. 

“I’ll finish that,” Merle said with a chuckle, grabbing her unfinished burger.

Ella didn’t come back out until morning, boasting puffy eyes and messy hair.

“We gotta get our story together for the border,” Daryl said before she slipped into the bathroom. He let out an impatient sigh and looked to his brother, who had crashed on the loft bed above the driver’s seat. Merle was feigning sleep. “Hey, get down here. If there’s any drugs or anything at all illegal on this RV, you need to get them off now.”

“We’re good, brother,” Merle mumbled. “Took it all last night.”

“That why you’re close to a coma?” Daryl asked dryly.

Ella came out of the bathroom drying her face off with a towel. “Did we steal these from the motel?”

Daryl smirked. “No, Merle did, though. So, I’m guessing they’re gonna search the RV when we get to the border. I assume you don’t have anything illegal.”

“No, nothing but new clothes and a marriage license.”

His smirk fell away. “Well, we need a story, in case they ask.”

“Fine,” Ella said with a shrug. “We just got married a month ago, this is our honeymoon, and I’m pissed that we had to bring your dirtbag brother along.”

“Love you too, sis,” Merle spoke up from the loft. 

“This works,” Daryl cut in, stopping Ella from snapping back. “We’re about four hours from the border, so everybody perk up or just fucking ignore each other. I am not in the mood to listen to ya’ll, so both of you, pull your shit together for one more day.”

Ella exhaled and rolled her eyes before returning to the bedroom.

“We’re gonna get going now,” Daryl called after her.

“I’m just changing,” she told him before shutting the door firmly.

“Can I watch?” Merle hollered.

Daryl walked to the driver’s seat, shaking his head, frustrated with both of them. He started up the RV and took off.

Ella changed into a bikini and covered it up with a summer dress. She patted on a bit of makeup and combed through her hair. She checked her reflection, took a deep breath, and made her way up to the passenger seat, flipping off Merle along the way.

Daryl had to do a double-take. He had been wearing the same clothes for two days up until then, he realized. “You look good.”

“I know that you mean better than before, but thanks anyway.” Ella pulled on her seatbelt and then her sunglasses. “What do we need to know about each other in case they think our age gap is fishy?”

Daryl snorted. “There’s only nine years between us.”

“Are you rich, then?” she asked, and if he wasn’t mistaken, Daryl detected a playful tone.

“I checked our bank account and we got about thirty grand,” he responded quickly.

“For real?” she asked incredulously.

“You act like that’s a lot.”

“It’s a hell of a lot more than I’ve ever had in my bank account,” she countered. “And really? Like it’s real money? We only paid nine grand for all of this and it includes-”

“It includes a deceased person’s money. Randall has his ways. He has more money than he knows what to do with, so he gets his kicks by not paying his taxes and breaking as many laws as he can,” Daryl explained. “I did my homework after we went there last week.”

“Wow. I had no idea. I thought we were running away to Mexico to be completely broke and hungry.”

He offered a smirk. “Not financially, anyway. And thirty grand isn’t that impressive. If I could have got to my own bank account… it doesn’t matter. It’s just money.” He paused for a few seconds, thinking back to her original question. “Should probably know birthdays, anniversary, how we met… that sort of stuff.”

“So… what’s your birthday?” she asked.

“January sixth. 1986,” he added.

“One-six-eighty six,” she repeated under her breath. “Okay, I’m June first, 1995. How do you want to meet?”

He chuckled quietly. “How would I meet a girl like you…? You’re not exactly my normal type.”

“I don’t know how to take that.”

“You’re nice and innocent.”

“Well,” Ella said quietly, “about being innocent. Maybe we met at a bar.”

“Fine. A bar in Texas.”

“Austin,” she added. “I was there for spring break, you were visiting a friend?”

“Sure,” he said with a shrug. “I tried for a one night stand and you kept calling.”

Ella snorted. “Please. I’ve never had a one night stand in my entire life. I don’t sleep with strangers.”

“Maybe you should,” Merle called out lazily from the loft. “Might loosen up, be a little fun.”

Daryl even snickered at that one. 

“Hey,” she said with concern, giving him a frown. “Don’t laugh at your wife like that. You tried for a one night stand and I turned you down.”

“Fine,” Daryl agreed. “You turned me down so I asked you to coffee the next morning.”

“Okay.” Ella stared out the window at the desert. “Great.”

The remainder of the ride to the border was nearly silent. Merle seemed to be the only one not concerned about passing through, but they barely even asked questions. Ella watched the rear view mirror as they drove away.

“Wow. Did that just happen?” she asked, looking over to Daryl.

“I guess so,” he murmured. “Next stop, Tampico.”

Hours later, when the RV was parked and they were overlooking the ocean, Merle let out a low whistle.

“Never thought I’d see this.” Next, his hand roughly clapped down on Ella’s shoulder, causing her to hiss from the pain that radiated from the still-healing cut on her left shoulder. “Guess we have you to thank for this.”

“Merle,” Daryl warned.

“Me? God, you are conceited,” Ella muttered. “I’m going for a walk.”

“Don’t you think…” Daryl trailed off at the look on her face.

“I’m fine. I speak Spanish and I’m literally just going down to the beach.” She pointed to the ocean. “If you’d like to watch, I’ll be in plain sight.”

Daryl exhaled hard and looked to his brother, but Merle was already walking off towards the edge of town. “Where are you going?”

“To find something fun to do,” Merle responded over his shoulder. “You comin’?”

Torn between wanting to relax and wanting to make sure Ella was okay and also that she had the space she wanted, Daryl struggled to make a decision, but he eventually followed his brother.

Ella was relieved. She sat in the sand for a while, listening to the gentle waves. She teared up thinking of her family; she thought back to when she was twelve, before her parents divorced. They had taken her along on a trip to Cancun along with an aunt, and uncle, and two of her cousins. She had particularly fond memories of that trip, of the three of them together and happy, before that all fell apart.

The brothers didn’t return until late into the night. Ella woke to the sound of drunken, loud laughter and to someone thumping into the RV. She glanced out the window and watched Merle finish off a bottle of tequila and Daryl pause to light a cigarette.

She let out a sigh and got back into bed, but it didn’t last long. Soon, they were pounding on the locked door and she was back up out of bed to let them in.

Daryl swayed in the dim light, looking up at her in her shorts and tank top, awed for a moment. “Next time, take a key,” she told him before turning to walk away. 

“Wait,” he managed before hurrying inside, leaving his brother out to pee in the sand. “I gotta ask where I’m s’posed to sleep.”

Ella turned and shrugged her shoulders. “That’s up to you. I’m in there, Merle’s up there, maybe the couch pulls out.”

“It doesn’t and it’s small,” he slurred, motioning to the tiny two-person couch.

She let out a quiet laugh. “Alright, so you’re wasted and you want to sleep in the bed with me? You’d have better luck asking sober, Daryl. Goodnight.”

“No, I don’t - it’s not ‘cause I want you,” he told her, stepping closer.

“Don’t,” she told him quietly. “Not tonight. I’m serious, sleep it off, Daryl.”

“You can trust me,” he tried.

“I’m trying to,” she replied quietly before closing herself in the room and twisting the lock.

Daryl stepped forward and rested his forehead against it, completely unaware that she was doing the same thing on the other side.


	7. Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this little story of mine!

Daryl woke with a groan, shading his face from the sunlight streaming through the window. He was stiff and cramped on that tiny couch; he stretched out and moved so he was upright.

“Holy hell,” he groaned, rubbing his temples as the RV spun slightly.

“Hey,” Ella greeted. “I need money.”

Daryl squinted at her, a pained expression on his face. He debated asking why, or what it was for, but decided against it. It just wasn’t worth it, he figured. He shifted, pulling his wallet out of the jeans he never changed out of. He held the entire thing out to her and she let out a sigh before taking it into her hand.

She pulled out a few bills and tossed it onto the couch beside him. “I’ll be back.”

Daryl waited until she was gone to take her bed. He pulled all the curtains down and promptly went right back to sleep. 

Ella was off to survey the town and to buy groceries. She chatted with a few locals, who first eyed her strangely but warmed up as soon as she spoke with them in Spanish. She asked around a few places for an under the table job and ended up charming a bar manager.

Proud of her accomplishments, she bought some fresh fruits, vegetables, and some other staples at the market before returning back to the RV. Merle was snoring loudly and she assumed Daryl had taken the bed to sleep off his hangover.

When he finally woke once more, Daryl wandered out and was beyond relieved to find food in the fridge. He tossed an orange at Merle, who merely stopped snoring for only a second before continuing once again. 

He wandered outside and spotted Ella down on the beach, so he wandered down to her and sat in the sand.

“What do you want?” she asked quietly.

“To apologize to you, that’s it. I’m sorry for last night. I don’t like to get like that.”

“It’s okay.”

Daryl glanced over to her. He remembered her picking out the bikini she had done, some black with shimmery gold number that made her skin glow. “It’s not. None of this is okay.”

“It’s really not,” Ella agreed. “But I’m tired of crying. I got a job today, as a bartender. I’m going to make my own money and… and probably make a decision in a few months on whether or not I’m going to stay with you guys. I like this town and I think I could live here, but… this whole situation…”

“I wouldn’t blame you,” he told her. "And if that's what you want, do it."

She turned onto her side, facing him. “If you want to share the bed, I have some ground rules.”

He stared at her for a second before letting out a small chuckle. “I can sleep on the floor.”

“No, that’s not fair. If anyone deserves to sleep on the floor, it’s your brother. As long as you don’t touch me and I don’t have to worry about you coming into bed hammered every night…”

“That’s not how I am,” he told her honestly. “Haven’t been that drunk in… years. And I don’t… I won’t ever touch you, or anyone that doesn’t want it.”

“Please don’t break my trust, Daryl,” she told him quietly.

“I won’t,” he promised.

After the first few days had passed, Daryl figured his brother was up to some shady business. Ella had told them both a man who was a regular at the bar owned a construction company and would give them both work. 

Daryl went the very next day and tried to get Merle to go, too. Instead, Merle waved him off, using the excuse he had something lined up.

As curious as he was, Daryl knew better than to ask. The job he took was difficult due to the language barrier; most of the other men referred to him as gringo and laughed when he didn’t understand their quick banter. Luckily, the man who owned the company, Richardo, spoke enough English to be able to give Daryl instructions.

Ella was doing well in her position. The bar she was working in had plans to open up a hut along the most popular beach area. She quickly offered to staff it most days, and they were just as quick to give it to her.

Merle, on the other hand, was coming back to the RV each night more messed up than the one before. He kept quiet about what kept him out so late whenever Daryl asked, so Daryl simply stopped asking.

Ella kept her money tucked away in the lining of her bag. She didn’t trust either of them, most of all Merle. 

Sharing the bed with Daryl was… interesting. She had never slept next to someone so often in her life. A few nights here and there with one serious boyfriend, that was about it. And that had been forever ago, when she was only eighteen and so naive. Before the beach hut opened, she was arriving back at the RV late in the evening, when he was already asleep after his own long day at work.

The day that the beach hut opened up, the bar owner flew in from Miami. Ella was moderately nervous; she had heard he was a hardass and also that the business was possibly a front for something else.

They had given her a new outfit for the hut; a bikini with a sheer kimono-style cover up that had the business name on it. After dressing for the day in the tiny RV bathroom, she came out to nearly walk right into Daryl.

“You’re goin’ to work like that?” he questioned, unable to stop himself from glancing downwards. He had seen her go in jeans and he had seen her go in a dress, never in something so revealing.

“We’re debuting the beach hut today,” she explained. “And the owner thought this was… appropriate.”

“Hm,” Daryl muttered. “Probably make more money than I do.”

Ella flashed a smile. “It’s all in the would you like to make that a double today, Daryl?” Her voice changed pitch slightly, her head tilted to the side, and her long eyelashes fluttered just slightly.

“Whatever that is, turn it off,” he mumbled, carefully navigating past her.

“You must be off today?” she asked, ignoring his last statement.

“Yeah.” He opened up the fridge and frowned. “Guess I’m goin’ to the market.”

“Where’s Merle been?” she asked next from the bedroom.

Daryl leaned back and looked through the doorway. She was checking her reflection in the mirror and adjusting her top. He pushed the fridge door shut and turned away from her. “Who the hell knows.”

“Richardo said he’s going to bring his family to the beach today. You could stop by,” she suggested gently.

“Not exactly a beach person. Or a family person,” he added. He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms.

Ella let out a small sigh. “Okay, well, then have fun at the mercado. Adios!” She slipped on a pair of sandals and was off.

Daryl rubbed his overgrown facial hair and let out a yawn. He was tired, his body was sore, and he entertained the thought of going back to bed.

Ella quite liked the beach hut. Twice a day, someone from the main bar was scheduled to bring her anything she needed. The hours were easy - noon to seven, when the beach generally closed down to the public. And the first day was busy.

So busy that she had to look twice when her manager introduced her to the owner. 

“Antonio,” he told her with a smile, reaching his hand forward to shake hers. He was tall, handsome, in sunglasses, and ultra-tan.

She shook his hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Ella.”

“That’s what Merle has told me,” Antonio mused, causing her eyes to shift past his face to spot her least favorite person behind him. “I hear you are Merle’s sister-in-law. I must ask, does your husband not make enough to buy you a pretty ring?”

Ella glanced down to her left hand before placing it on her hip. “We get by just fine, I’m not a big fan of jewelry.”

“What a lucky man,” Antonio commented playfully. He lowered his sunglasses and without shame, let his eyes pass over every curve. “If you were mine, I’d make sure everyone knew it.”

Her cheeks flushed immediately and words didn’t seem to make their way to her tongue.

“We’ll let you get back to work,” he told her next. “Pleasure to meet you. I look forward to seeing more of you.”

“Bye, sis,” Merle emphasized before following Antonio off.

Ella looked immediately to her manager, Pedro. “What sort of cover is this business for?”

He shrugged his shoulders and took another bite of the taco he had picked up at the next stand over. “Do you really want to know?”


	8. Eight

Ella arrived back at the RV feeling overheated and exhausted. Daryl was outside reading from a book that he turned over in his lap swiftly, straightening up in his lawn chair.

“You look red,” he observed as she sat in the chair opposite from him. 

“Merle’s working for the guy that owns the bar and I’m pretty sure it’s a cover for a cocaine operation,” she told him with worry.

“What?” Daryl questioned, but not because he hadn’t heard her. “You for real?”

“Yeah, I just met the guy today and Merle was there with him. He looks really strung out.” Ella sat in the chair beside him with a heavy sigh. “What’s the book?”

Daryl let out a small huff. “Tryin’ to learn more Spanish.” He held up the Spanish-English dictionary for her. “Pretty sure the guys at work just talk shit about me.”

Ella offered a compassionate smile. “I’m sure that’s not true. And I think it’s sweet that you want to learn. So… que estamos comiendo esta noche?”

He simply gave her a blank stare in return, causing her to laugh and translate.

“What are we eating tonight?”

He shook his head with a smirk on his lips. “Richardo sent a kid over earlier inviting us to dinner. I said we’d go.”

“Oh?” she asked, semi-disappointed. “Alright, then, I guess I should change.”

When they were on the walk over to Richardo's, it hit Ella that she had not yet truly had to pretend to actually be married to Daryl. The only place they were ever together was at the RV.

“Does Richardo ever ask questions about us?” she asked Daryl.

His broad shoulders shrugged once. “Nah, not really.”

Ella smiled and looked forward once again. Not another word was spoken until they were within a block of Richardo’s house when Daryl’s hand bumped into hers. His fingers intertwined with hers and she gave him such a look that he had to laugh.

“It’s all part of the act, right?”

She nodded quickly. “Yeah.”

Daryl knocked on the door and within seconds a kid of about six pulled it open. He motioned for them to enter before skipping away.

They glanced between each other before continuing inside.

“Daryl, Ella, welcome!” Richardo told them with a grin. “Tonight we have surprise guests.”

Surprise guests was right, Daryl figured as his eyes shifted past Richardo and onto his brother, who was standing to a tall, tan man.

“Antonio,” Ella stated, startled. “Hi.”

“I’m glad we could all get together on this fine night,” he told her with a wink. “You must be her husband and Merle’s brother. Daryl, I presume?”

Daryl left Ella’s side to give the other man’s hand a firm shake. “Daryl. Nice to meet you.”

“Daryl and Merle,” Antonio mused. “And beautiful Ella. How did this happen?”

The room fell silent and Ella felt as if she couldn’t look away from his burning gray eyes. “It just sort of happened. Love’s funny that way.”

Daryl’s hand was squeezing hers again gently, pulling her attention to him. “From the second I saw her.”

She let out a nervous laugh as her cheeks warmed up. “I wish I could say the same. I have to admit, Daryl did some chasing in the beginning.”

Merle snorted in his attempt not to laugh.

“Very well. I’ve brought my flagship tequila. Please, Rosie, could you pour everyone a round?” 

Rosie was Richardo’s wife. A quiet woman who easily saw the truth in people; the first time Ella had met her in the bar, she had asked in quiet Spanish what Ella was running from.

Ella had leaned over the counter before whispering, “El Diablo!” which had only caused Rosie to sign the cross over her chest before letting out cheerful laughter. Since then, they had got along very well.

“I thought I’d meet the person who is lucky enough to have Ella,” Antonio told Daryl. “And, we all have business to discuss. Surely Richardo has explained to you who backs his business.”

Daryl glanced at his employer and swallowed dryly. Daryl asked zero questions, considering he was paid in cash every week, no questions asked.

“I run this town,” Antonio stated calmly. “Please, sit. Rosie’s cooking is to die for. Thank you, my dear,” he told her as she placed the shot glasses of amber liquid all around the table.

Everybody took a seat, save for the four kids who momentarily ran through the small kitchen before going outside.

“To Tampico!” he announced, holding up his glass for a toast.

Ella shot hers back without hesitation simply from having a feeling that she needed something to take the edge off.

“As Ella was made aware today, Merle has been working for me. I thought tonight would be the night to announce that he will be making a full-time transition to be my… transportation specialist. He will spend the next several weeks with me in Miami before returning to Tampico.”

Daryl swallowed thickly and eyed his brother, who couldn’t seem to return the gesture. He was looking up at Antonio with admiration; Daryl had only ever seen him look at their father in that way, and their father had not been a good man.

“Is that so?” Daryl asked. Even then, Merle would not look to him.

“The agreement has been made. Merle will return, when I feel he is ready to take over Tampico alone. Until then, we have a several part agreement to discuss.” Antonio refilled his glass and handed the bottle over to Merle.

Rosie hurried up out of her seat and began to bring the food to the table. Ella would normally have offered to help, but she felt mildly paralyzed.

“Upon finishing five weeks in Miami, Merle will be awarded a nice sum of money to get the operation up and running out of the bay here. If he does not finish or perform to my liking, he’s agreed that he will be punished for wasting my time, in a way that I have not yet decided. In order to keep him focused, Daryl’s job with Richardo is only safe for the next five weeks. Furthermore, I simply ask that Ella set up the groundwork to begin moving product from the beach hut bar as we move into high season.”

“Why Ella?” Daryl asked.

“She’s a bombshell. Even if a cop started asking questions, she could charm her way right out of it.”

“I’ll do it,” Ella said quietly. “It’ll be fine.”

Daryl shot her an alarmed look. “No way.”

“It’s just coke, right? It’ll be fine.” She offered him a small nod. “I mean it. It’s just five weeks. That’s nothing.”

As Daryl considered how much longer five weeks was when he compared it to how long he had known her, Antonio began to prepare his plate of food.

“Please, eat. I’m sure Rosie would be devastated if all this food went to waste.”

Daryl’s opportunity to speak with Merle alone didn’t come until late in the evening when his brother stepped outside to smoke. He followed quickly, trusting that Antonio wouldn’t come onto Ella too strongly with the children and parents around.

“What the fuck are you doing, Merle? Going back to the States so soon? Are you that fucking stupid?”

Merle calmly lit his cigarette. “I got a chance brother, and one I can’t let go. I can make it big down here if I go learn from him.”

“Did you see that guy, Merle? You aren’t like him.”

“No, but I don’t need to be. I just need to know the business and then I can make Tampico the prime spot for exporting.” Merle took a long drag. “What’s the deal with the girl, anyway? You ain’t gettin’ feelings for her, right?”

Daryl’s brow furrowed. “Nah, man, but she don’t need that creep breathing down her neck. And what the hell happens if you don’t work out to his liking? He just offs you? I never see you again? I never know what happens to you?”

“It’s not me that’s the punishment, brother,” Merle said with a wink. “Nothin’ will happen to me or you.”

A chill passed over Daryl and he clenched his fists. “After all of this. After everything that you’ve done. Everything’s she been through? And you put her life on the line? Again?”

“He’s not gonna kill her. He just wants to add her to his collection of babes in Miami.”

“You better not fuck this up,” Daryl warned. “I fuckin’ mean it.”

Merle exhaled smoke calmly. “Lil’ bro, all I got to say is, if I’m not back in five weeks, you best get movin’, with her or not. I’ll either meet you at the next stop or not.”


	9. Nine

Ella was drunk, which made the walk home much harder than the walk to Richardo’s had been. Antonio and Merle had left together, but only after a bottle of tequila was gone.

“This was a bad idea,” she told Daryl.

“Mexico?” he asked quietly, glancing around as if they might get jumped for speaking badly about the country.

“No, tequila,” she corrected him. “My head is swimming.”

“Hm. Maybe you need to drink more.”

“Maybe I do. I’ll probably change my mind when I’m puking later.”

“You’ll be fine,” Daryl told her with a chuckle.

“Your brother is an idiot.”

“We already know this,” he reminded her gently. He refrained from telling her that her life was potentially at risk, yet again, not only because she had agreed to start selling drugs but also because his brother had no regard for her life. “You shouldn’t have agreed to sell that shit for him.”

“He owns the place I work for - and you, too - and he’s… he gives me a bad vibe. We need to not piss people off right now, right?”

“Yeah, I don’t think you had anything to be worried about,” Daryl told her quietly. He grabbed onto her arm gently as she stumbled slightly. “Do you work tomorrow?”

“Yeah. No,” she corrected quickly. “No, I don’t.”

“We need to talk tomorrow then, about all this shit.”

“Now is fine.”

“Now’s not,” he said with a quiet chuckle. “Let’s focus on one foot in front of the other right now, okay?”

Ella looked up to him in the dark night sky. “Hey, this is just payback.”

“Uh, sure,” he told her. “That mean I can kick you out of bed, then?”

“No,” she responded with a wide smile. “My bed is calling my name.”

“Our bed,” he corrected as the RV came into sight.

Ella was hitting a wall. As soon as Daryl unlocked the RV, she gulped down a glass of water and headed for bed.

Daryl wasn’t entirely sober himself, but he did pour a splash of whiskey before sitting at the table. The RV had quickly turned into a tiny, shared home. Merle had been gone so much that he considered taking the loft bed, but he dreaded getting kicked out in the middle of the night and he figured if Ella didn’t want him there, she would tell him. 

Merle was going to be gone for weeks. Daryl thought long and hard about how many ways his brother could mess their entire cover up. He wondered if Antonio was at all connected to Montoya. He wondered what would happen if Merle never came back. Antonio surely would, though, which was why he stood up quickly and marked the calendar with the week that Merle was scheduled to return.

They had discussed the next stop without Ella, because both had their own worries that she would either split on them or that she would turn them in. In the latter case, they had agreed to run, separately, and meet up at the agreed upon location. It was the one thing Daryl had not and was not prepared to share with Ella, just in case things took a turn for the worse. 

He had been prepared to leave Merle in the dust, had Merle refused to go along with the plan. But they were there, in Mexico, the three of them. Getting by. Surviving with minimal arguments, at least for the past two weeks. Five weeks alone with Ella…?

Daryl drained his glass in one swift drink. He stood up and looked through the open bedroom door, where Ella was fast asleep on top of the blankets, her sundress high up on her mid-thigh.

“Fuck you,” he muttered, not so much towards her, but against himself.

He locked the doors, shut off the lights, and collapsed in bed beside her.

Daryl woke to a distant memory. Someone’s hips grinding against his. His hands on curves. The ache in his cock.

His eyes snapped open; Ella was on top of him, her hair splayed everywhere. Her hips were ever-so-slightly rocking over his.

“Hey,” he grumbled, removing both hands from her round asscheeks.

“Hm?”

“Get off,” he growled with a little more conviction.

“I’m trying,” she breathed, straightening up just enough that she could feel his erection against the perfect part of her panties.

“Ella,” Daryl groaned. “Stop.”

She didn’t though, and leaned back with her hands bracing herself on his thighs. Her back arched and her hips rolled.

Daryl grabbed her hips and pulled her off of him, pinning her back to the mattress in a second. His face merely inches from hers, he breathed, “We can’t do this like this.”

Her hazel eyes fluttered open and her cheeks flushed red. “A-are you sure?”

His forehead rested against hers for a split second, and then he nodded firmly. “I don’t want… it like this.” In a hurry, he fled out of bed and into the shower, where he let the cold water run over his body. He refused to give in.

Ella, still in bed, let her tired fingers dip below her panties. Her heavy eyelids fell shut and for once, she let herself find pleasure, all up until the sound of the shower stopped.

Then, she rolled out of bed, picked out fresh clothes, and shut the door shut to change. For a moment, she debated jeans and a t-shirt before remembering they were in the sweltering summer in Mexico. 

Ella slipped into another bikini, a coverup dress, and grabbed a spare towel. Her head was spinning, so she grabbed an extra water from the fridge.

“I’m going out, I have a key!” she called through the bathroom door.

Inside, Daryl grumbled.

He didn’t see her again until he was returning from work and she was sitting under a second-hand umbrella, reading a book with a small fire licking at the stone edges he had set around it.

“Que… comar?”

“Close,” she told him with a smile. “Que estas cocinados? Chicken burritos. Hope that’s okay.”

“Si,” he murmured with a smirk. “Gimme a minute inside. You need anything?”

“Una mas tequila?” she called after him, mostly jokingly.

“No para ti!” Daryl called in response, causing her to laugh loudly.

By the time he was finished in the bathroom, Ella was providing the finishing touches on dinner inside the RV. His eyes subconsciously swept over her outfit - the gold-ish bikini, covered in a sheer black floral kimono - and he groaned internally at the thought of how the day had started.

“Have you heard from Merle?” she asked as she motioned to the stack of plates to him, meaning he should make his plate.

“No,” Daryl admitted. “Been a little distracted.” He glanced over to catch the instant flush on her cheeks.

When they were seated across from each other at the small table, Ella spoke up first.

“I’m sorry for this morning, I know that was… really awkward,” she blurted with red cheeks.

Daryl glanced to her and then quickly away. “We don’t gotta talk about it.”

She smiled quickly and they ate a very silent dinner afterwards.

“If you want me to take Merle’s bed, I will,” Daryl said firmly as he set their dishes in the sink.

“No!” Ella exclaimed quickly. “God, I am so sorry. I think I was still drunk. I don’t get like that. I’m sorry. I won’t… assault you again.”

He snorted before he could think to stop himself. “Please. Assault? C’mon, Ella.”

“I… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have. You’ve been… you’ve been good to me, Daryl. I mean, other than making me move to Mexico and starting tomorrow I’ll be selling drugs and oh yeah, one time I killed a ma-”

Daryl shushed her quickly and intensely. “Not out loud.”

“You sleep next to a murderer,” she said quietly, her voice wavering. “How?”

He looked to her again, to her watery eyes and felt his heart drop to his stomach. “Hey, don’t do this. You can’t beat yourself up.”

“I’ll never see anyone I know again,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around herself tightly.

“He was gonna kill you,” Daryl said firmly. “He would have killed you, Ella.”

“I know!” she cried out. “I know. But what happens when Merle comes back to get me out of the picture or what happens when Antonio comes back to collect when he fucks up? It’ll be me, I’m not an idiot, Daryl. I just… I just don’t want to die. I’m not ready.”

“You’re not going to,” he told her firmly. “I won’t let it-”

“You don’t have to protect me!” she cut in with a flare of anger and frustration. “I can’t even - this is so - you have no idea how frustrating this is!”

“You’re not the only one who left everything behind, Ella,” he stated quietly. “Don’t forget, this isn’t where I want to be either. Sleeping in the bed with a girl I can’t touch. Working with fifteen other guys who talk shit on me in another language. Sand is fuckin’ everywhere - in our goddamn bed, clogging the goddamn shower! I had a good job, a house, a real fuckin’ life. You miss mommy and daddy? Too fuckin’ bad. All you are is some spoiled-ass rich kid who just wants to whine because your parents split. Fuckin’ pathetic. My mom was killed in a house fire when I was nine and my dad started beatin’ my ass right after. I’ve cleaned up my brother’s shit since I was just a kid, and now I got yours, too. I burned down a fuckin’ house, Ella. With a body in it. You think this is all about you?”

“N-no,” she stuttered. “I didn’t mean…”

“Fuckin’ typical,” Daryl muttered before grabbing his wallet off the counter. “I’m going out.”

“Daryl, please,” Ella tried. “Can we just talk?”

“No,” he snapped, whirling around to face her again. “Look, I’m tryin’. I’m tryin’ to make this work. But right now I can’t listen to your woe-is-me shit. My fuckin’ brother has gone off and will probably fuck up, you’re right. And as shitty as he can be, he’s all I got.”

After Daryl had gone, Ella cleared her tears and washed the dishes. She crawled into bed, thinking hard about Daryl’s words.

Not all of them were true. She hadn’t grown up a rich kid, but she hadn’t been abused, either. But, she had to admit, albeit with guilt, that Daryl was semi-right. It wasn’t all about her and she wasn’t the only one struggling; he just managed to hide it much better than her.

She was still awake two hours later when Daryl came back to the RV, though she did choose to feign sleep. He quietly slid into bed and his arm carefully slipped over her as he moved closer to her. She stared at the wall, frozen to the spot.

“‘M sorry,” he breathed before falling silent and trying for sleep, which didn’t come easily for either of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all I have been rewatching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Spike just showed up so distractions (beyond the usual) may come so please if you're listening/reading, give me some love and motivation if you feel so inclined!
> 
> Also - due to some personal issues I'm not able to watch this season (tears streaming down cheeks) so please for the love of Dixon don't spoil anything for poor ol' me!


	10. Ten

Ella was nervous to start pushing drugs onto the vacationers that visited her beach hut, but she quickly learned it was surprisingly easy. There wasn’t much to it; people seemed to know what to ask for and she was quick to meet their needs. Her hours were extended and she was working a lot, most days of the week.

Daryl was in a similar situation. He suspected Antonio was behind it, but Richardo was giving him more and more hours. The only time he came close to seeing Ella was when she arrived late at night and collapsed in bed beside him, then in the morning, when she was still sleeping peacefully when he got ready for another brutal day of manual labor in the Mexican summer heat.

Ella had lost her ability to keep her earnings hidden, so Daryl had begun adding his weekly pay into the several cups she ended up using to keep track of her tips and wages. The money didn’t much matter until one of them happened to have a day off and could make it to the market to buy fresh tortillas and something to get them by for another couple of days.

And before Ella knew it, the five weeks that Merle had been gone were up. Every morning for five weeks straight, the stash of small bags filled with white powder miraculously refilled themselves but that morning, the stash was not refilled.

A flicker of fear shuddered through her body. She had no way of warning Daryl, not while they were both at work.

By the end of her shift, ice was flowing through her veins. She hurried to the RV; the bad feeling intensified at the sight of it readied to leave. Assuming Daryl was inside, perhaps with Merle, she rushed towards it.

She yanked open the door and hopped up the stairs, only to come face to face with Antonio’s tanned grin.

“Welcome home, sweetheart,” he told her gently before grasping onto her wrist tightly, giving her no option to run. “We’re going to go for a little ride.”

“Where are they?” she asked immediately. “I’ve done nothing - we’ve just been working.”

“Start the truck,” Antonio told whoever was in the driver’s seat. He pulled her to the couch, pushing her gently until she was seated. “They are in my home. Both of them, alive. Merle has done better than expected, but… as for you.”

“I-I’ve sold your product and I’ve done everything-”

“Please, stop talking.” His long fingers stroked her hair, tangled from the beach breeze. “I know that you’ve done well, Ella. But you could do so much better, in Miami.”

“I-I… I can’t, what about Daryl?” she asked nervously.

Antonio pressed his thin lips together and let out a short huff of air. “Yes, your annoying husband.”

Ella blinked before remembering that yes, of course Daryl was her “husband”. “I love him.”

“I don’t believe you,” he breathed in her ear before kissing her hairline. “You would be so much better in my mansion. With your own private room. Working in my clubs, moving my product to drunk college kids.”

“Please don’t touch me,” she told him timidly.

The wide grin returned. “You are a little mouse, aren’t you, Ella Wolfe?”

The ride to Antonio’s mansion took nearly a half an hour. He spent all of it too close to her, making her terrified of his presence. Upon arrival, he and the driver escorted her inside. Antonio poured her a glass of wine, then led her down to the basement, where Daryl and Merle were both seated, hands tied behind their backs, both beaten.

“What is this?” she asked Antonio immediately, her fingers curling tighter around the wine glass. She hadn’t taken a single sip and the sight in front of her made her thankful for that.

“This, sweetheart, is an ultimatum. You pick a brother to live, or you shoot them both. In the end, either way, you come to live with me.”

“Maybe you don’t know exactly who I am,” she told him quietly. “But if you bring me to the South, you’re just opening up something you do not want to be part of.”

“You think you have a say in this, and that’s cute.” His fingers stroked her hair again.

Ella met Daryl’s eyes. His ice-blue eyes were angry. His nose and lip had bled at some point, trailing down into the wiry hair of his goatee. “Neither of them will die tonight. If it’s anyone, it’s me, and you should know that the last person that tried to rape me died by my own hands.”

Antonio laughed quietly. “You do not look threatening, Ella. Tell me, please do tell me about what it feels like to murder a man.”

Ella’s jaw clenched tightly. Her eyes had already swept the small wine cellar he had led her into. Other than the Dixon brothers tied up to their chairs, there were wine bottles, Antonio with an obvious gun in his jacket, and her wine glass in her hand.

“This man wanted me dead because of what I witnessed. My life meant nothing to him, other than that he thought he would fuck me before I died.” She swirled her glass, watching the red liquid swirl around. “He thought he could overpower me, and he almost did. He almost took my pants off, but… I’m fast, and if I say so myself, I am smart. I map out every room I go into since… Since I was first taken. I got a knife, he tackled me. It slid out of my hands. He cut me, look, you can see the scars and how fresh they are.”

Ella slid off the kimono she wore over her work bikini, letting her pink scars show in the dim lighting.

“I know you like what you see, Antonio, but you have to understand. The only person who gets to lay hands on my body is my husband, who you have hurt, and if you think you’re getting away with this then…” 

She stepped closer to him, trailing her finger along his jawline gently. “Then you are truly an idiot who merely owns an empire.”

The Dixon brothers watched her other hand pull the gun from his jacket; all the while, Antonio was transfixed by her gaze. 

It was only when the tip of the gun was pressed into his crotch, that Antonio realized what she had done.

“I stabbed him over and over. I felt him die. And I’ll feel you die, if I have to.” She pulled the hammer back on the gun. “Unless you let all three of us walk right now.”

“They’ll kill all of you if they hear a gunshot,” he responded unevenly.

Ella smiled warmly and slowly poured out her glass of wine onto the expensive rug beneath them. “There’s other ways, Antonio.”

“That glass of wine is worth five hundred American dollars and this rug!”

He stopped, as angry as he was, when she flicked her wrist, smashing the wine glass before looking at it with amusement.

“Broken glass is pretty useful. And quiet. Here’s the deal, you’re going to let them go, and all three of us will take our RV and leave. We won’t ever show up in your life again, and you can live. Or if you want to make this difficult, then I will fucking kill you, because the last thing my husband deserves is to lose his brother.”

Daryl looked to her quickly, sucking in a sharp breath. He would have never in a million years expected to hear those words from her mouth.

“Very well, I will escort you out, but please be assured if any of you ever show up in Tampico or Miami again… there will be consequences.”

“Cut them free,” Ella ordered firmly. “And we will never come back.”

Antonio hesitated, then nodded. “You have been the first woman to stand up to me, Mrs. Wolfe.”

“Then I hope this is a sign for you to stop taking advantage of scared women. Because eventually, they will get fed up of your shit.” 

Ella kept a close eye on Antonio as he untied the brothers, and she also kept the gun trained on him all the way until they were out at the RV. 

“Get inside,” Daryl muttered to her.

“You first,” she responded, her fingers still wrapped tightly around the gun. “Start the engine and I’ll get in.”

“Ella…”

“Just do it!” she hissed to him, continuing to keep the gun trained on Antonio.

Daryl begrudgingly went into the RV, keys in hand, and made his way to the driver’s seat. He didn’t waste time in starting the engine; as soon as the side door opened and slammed shut, he threw the gear into drive.

“Go, Daryl,” Ella stated firmly.

“Goddamn, sis,” Merle commented, looking back from the passenger seat. “Respect.”

“I got a bottle of tequila and I’m gonna drink it,” she stated firmly. “And when I wake up, I want this to not be a problem anymore.”

“Shit, girl, can I join you?” Merle asked.

“I don’t even give a fuck,” Ella said dryly. “But if you try to be a racist, sexist, fucking asshole… I have a gun.”

Merle cackled loudly, and Daryl groaned in the driver’s seat.

“If ya’ll start pukin’, I’m done,” he grumbled.

***

Ella woke with a groan. Someone was in bed with her and the last thing she remembered was talking with Merle, which made her want to puke. Instead, she turned to face Daryl, who was smirking.

“Not feelin’ good?” he questioned.

She groaned and pulled the blanket over her face. “No. Where are we?”

“About six hours east of Tampico, give or take, ‘cause I was just guessin’ on the highways.”

“I’m so tired,” she sighed behind the blanket.

“Sorry, but we need you to cross the border. And we need to clean out the RV… food, booze. Gun. Figure out what to do with the pesos.”

Ella pulled the blanket down, revealing her tired face. “How far are we?”

“The plan is to drive about five more hours before heading north, but… we’re on a popular highway. We need to get the story straight.”

“But I’m tired and I just saved your lives so why are you waking me really?” Ella asked sincerely.

Daryl smirked and moved her hair out of her face. “Fine. Thank you. You were a badass. I can’t… We all got out because of you.”

She let her tired eyes close and let out a sigh. “Listen, I just need like a triple espresso iced coffee and then we can talk but I drank a bottle of tequila so without that I’m worthless unless you want to…”

“Want to what?” Daryl asked after she trailed off, eyes open wide and staring at his chest.

“Nothing,” she whispered quietly. “When we get to the border, I’m still your wife. It’s still the same story. We can toss out the gun and we can say the money was vacation money.”

There was a smirk on his lips and something in the way he was looking at her that had her on edge.

“Why’re you looking at me like that?” she asked quietly, straightening up until she was seated on the bed like he was. Her fingers swept beneath her eyes, forgetting that she hadn’t worn makeup since the bruising from her initial kidnapping had gone away.

“I figured you’d find a way to get yourself out and go off on your own,” Daryl admitted. “Never thought you’d put any effort into keeping Merle’s ass alive.”

She smiled and her cheeks flushed. “Well… the thought of how you would react to that was not… pretty. And you’re not so bad, I guess.”

He chuckled quietly. “Keep that up and you’ll make a guy think ya actually like him.”

Her eyes darted away quickly as she bit on her lower lip. “So, are you trying to get more sleep or what? You have to be exhausted. Can’t Merle drive?”

“Merle’s still passed out, but yeah, I was hoping to lay down for a bit.”

“You should,” she agreed quietly. “I’ll be right back.”

Daryl watched her leave the bedroom before kicking off his boots and shimmying out of his jeans. He smoothed out the blankets, messy from Ella’s sleep, and slipped beneath them before she returned to the bedroom, pulling the door shut behind her.

Daryl turned on his side, facing her as she slipped into the bed beside him. “I gotta say… I’m pretty damn impressed by you, Ella.”

She let out a quiet laugh as she adjusted her pillow. “You would’ve done the same. You already have.”

“I’d kiss you if I didn’t think you’d slap me,” Daryl said quietly.

Ella’s eyes widened slightly as her heart skipped a beat. “I wouldn’t.”

And so he gently ran his fingers over her hair, and pressed his lips against hers. It was quick and soft, but he knew if he let himself go any further, there would be either no turning back or an incredibly uncomfortable conversation.

“Just one?” she whispered, want in her voice and trembling fingers lightly on his arm.

He nodded, a smirk on his lips. “Just one, for now.” He turned onto his back and tugged gently on the blankets. “That mean you want more?”

“I mean… I did just go brush my teeth,” she admitted. Her cheeks were burning hot.

He chuckled quietly. “I know. No need to rush anything.” He extended his arm out and she automatically slid closer, resting her cheek on his shoulder. “Gonna have to wait for a time you haven’t had tequila in ya.”

She cringed against him and giggled quietly. “Yeah… I know.”

After a long nap, the three of them combed through the RV. Merle wiped the gun clean of any prints and took a walk into the hot desert, dropping it in pieces before finally chucking the clipless gun down a canyon.

Ella organized and counted the pesos she and Daryl had accumulated over the past month and a half. 

Daryl checked through Merle’s bunk, ensuring no drugs or other illegal substances were hidden.

And then they were on their way yet again. Daryl drove, Merle slept, and Ella sat in the passenger seat, hand trailing out the window in the wind after the air conditioning gave out on them.

“Does that mean there’s other problems?” she asked eventually, pulling at the tank top that was sticking to her sweat.

“Might be,” Daryl muttered, checking the mirrors again. A car had been behind them for a while, but it finally turned off, relieving him from stress that they were being followed. “We’ll just try to get as far as we can, I guess. Go from there.”

“Would it be better to get to an airport and fly back?”

Daryl shrugged. “Maybe. I dunno.”

An hour later, they were on the side of the highway in scorching heat. Ella watched from a few feet away as the brothers bickered, both attempting to be more knowledgeable than the other. She shook her head and walked a few feet, looking in either direction, but the highway was empty and the last city they had seen had been a small little blip on the map.

“This is bullshit,” Merle muttered, kicking a rock onto the highway. “Antonio prob’ly had someone fuck with it. He’s shady like that anyway.”

“Says the guy who started working for him immediately,” Ella mused. 

“Says the chick who spent the last five weeks pushin’ coke for him,” Merle shot back. “You ain’t innocent, missy.”

“Hm, I wonder why?” she challenged. “Could it be because someone-”

“Please,” Daryl interrupted quietly. “Can we not. Last night ya’ll split a bottle of tequila and got along just fine.”

“Seems tequila does somethin’ for that prissy fuckin’ attitude you got,” Merle commented. “That mean my brother got some yet?”

“Oh, fuck you!” Ella said with a frown and a hand on her hip. 

His eyes scanned over her form; her tank top, clinging so close to her sweaty skin, her shorts that revealed tanned legs, and even her sneakers. “That an invite?”

Daryl stepped in front of her, placing a hand on her arm. “Don’t let him get to you. He’s just an idiot.”

“Yeah, he is,” she agreed before her eyes shifted past him. “There’s a truck coming.”

Daryl turned and shaded his eyes from the intense sun. Ella was already walking out to the middle of the highway, waving both arms.

“So, have you?” Merle muttered to his brother, yet again allowing his eyes to swoop over her. 

“Shut up,” Daryl responded firmly. 

Both of them hung around on the shoulder, even as she hopped up on the runner board to chat with the driver of the truck.

“Fuck she’s hot,” Merle commented lowly. “Fuckin’ hate her for it.”

Daryl couldn’t help but smirk and let his own eyes fall on her standing on the running boards. 

“Let’s pack up,” Ella called over her shoulder a moment later. “He’s going to give us a ride to the next town.”

In a quick sweep, not knowing whether or not they would return to the RV, all three of them packed up everything important and hopped into the back of the truck. 

“Are we sure about this?” Merle yelled over the sound of the old truck and the wind.

“Yep!” Ella responded cheerfully, holding her hair out of the way from whipping into her face.

The next stop came thirty minutes later, where they were dropped at a gas station with a grinning face and a wave from the driver.

“Great, so now we’re at a gas station. Now what?” Merle asked crossly.

“Now, we put together our pesos, get to the airport, and fly back,” Ella stated confidently. “Now, I’ve been asking about flight prices, and getting into the U.S. is much easier and cheaper. So, I have the money tucked aside, we just need to find a taxi or someone to give us a ride.”

“I don’t like that she’s got the money,” Merle commented immediately. “Why does she get to hold the money?”

Daryl glanced to his brother. “What, you think I’m gonna trust you to hold onto it?”

“Don’t forget, brother, this is supposed to be bros before hoes,” Merle growled back. 

Ella disregarded both of them; she went into the gas station and offered the attendant a warm smile. “Hola!”

Outside, Merle swung first.

Inside, the attendant’s eyes were trained on a drop of sweat trailing down Ella’s chest as she sweetly asked him about a taxi service and where the nearest airport was.

Outside, Daryl wiped blood from the corner of his mouth. “Knock it off, Merle.”

The older brother laughed dryly. “Knock it off? You’re regardin’ this bitch like she’s the queen or some shit, and she ain’t even gettin’ you off! 

Inside, Ella accepted the map and business card. She called the driver and arranged a pick up for the following morning before the attendant noticed the fight going on outside.

“For fuck’s sake,” she muttered before storming back out into the heat. “Are you two for fucking real right now?! I leave you alone for two seconds and you act like a couple of children? Can you please act civil for more than an hour at a time?”

“You’re the fucking problem,” Merle snarled before spitting at the ground in front of her feet. “Got my brother wrapped around your goddamn pinky, you’re not even puttin’ out for him!”

Daryl was panting a few feet away, leaned over slightly to let the blood drip from his nose without getting onto his shirt. He watched her, waiting for her to snap, but instead, her brow furrowed and she simply looked confused.

“Why is all of this about sex to you? Are you that depraved that you’re going to let your own jealousy of not being able to have me get in the way of your relationship with your brother? Daryl could have fucked me if he wanted to by now. We’ve shared a bed practically since I met him and he’s not once even tried. All of this jealousy you have and all of this anger over me? What, did Antonio not let you get laid while you spent five weeks in the States after we specifically left to lay low? Are you that desperate for sex? Because if that’s the problem, I’m sorry, but you’re a little pathetic. Letting jealousy get in the way of your brother, after leaving everything else behind? Maybe you need to rethink things, Merle.”

Ella took a breath and gave her head a little shake. “Anyway, a taxi is coming to pick us up tomorrow morning, and the guy said we can sleep in his kids’ rooms because they’re away at some bible camp thing. Go clean yourselves up so you don’t terrorize the poor guy’s wife.”

Merle was the first to go towards the gas station door. Ella met Daryl’s eyes as he wiped at his nose.

“You probably just pissed him off more,” he warned her. “And if I wasn’t bleedin’, I’d kiss the hell outta you right now.”

She let out a quiet laugh. “Whatever. You don’t have to lie to me, Daryl.”

He stepped up closer to her, so close that she grew a little rigid. “I’m not. I don’t lie.” And then he went inside, offering a nod to the attendant who had his eyes wide and looked a bit like he regretted offering Ella a place to crash for a night.

Daryl shoved the bathroom door open and walked in, glaring at his brother. Merle had washed off his face and was drying it with a few paper towels.

“Don’t pull this shit again,” Daryl warned. “I’m getting tired of dealing with your shit over and over again.”

“You shoulda let Antonio take her.”

“She sorta took control of that on her own.”

Merle snorted. “I ain’t blind, brother. I know you got somethin’ for her. I just hope you realize what’s important to you.”

Daryl leaned over the sink, gripping it tightly, but looked to his brother in the mirror. “She worked her ass off, from the second we got here. And what were you doing? Following around some asshole in Florida, just like you did with dad.”

“Watch your tongue, boy,” Merle growled.

“You sound just like him,” Daryl muttered before rinsing his bloody face off.

***

Later that night, as Ella slept peacefully beside him, Daryl stared up at the ceiling while Merle snored from the floor. Their bellies were filled; the gas station attendant’s wife turned out to be an incredibly cook and lovely host who spoke broken English. 

He turned his head, looking over to Ella. She was curled up, head on his shoulder yet again. He couldn’t imagine how it was possibly comfortable, but yet there she was, sleeping deeply. Her hand was rested on his chest and one leg was draped over his. 

He could only admit that Merle was right. He did like her. Too much for his own comfort. So much that he couldn’t let himself take advantage of her that morning five weeks earlier when he had awakened to her grinding on him.

Even the memory made his breath tremble on his lips. 

Sleep never really came for Daryl that night as he struggled to simply lie there, a human pillow, and listen to his brother’s obnoxious snores. It was only when the sun was beginning to shine through the window and Ella was beginning to slowly wake that his eyes drooped shut.

“We have to go,” her words stated firmly some time later, bringing him back to consciousness. She was standing up, bag in hand. Merle was sitting upright on the floor, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his palms.

“Shit,” he mumbled.

And then they were up. Ella gave the attendant’s wife a heartfelt thank you before they walked nearly a mile to the gas station, where the taxi arrived moments later.

After hearing it was a two hour ride, Daryl bunched up a jacket and used it as a pillow against the window.

When he woke again, it was Merle smacking his shoulder to wake him at the airport.

“So, boys, where are we going?” Ella murmured as they stood behind the line for boarding passes.

“Did we get our passports off the RV?” Daryl asked groggily.

“Yeah, I have everything,” Ella replied smoothly. “California is the soonest. San Diego.”

“That’s fine,” Daryl agreed as his brother shrugged.

“Who gives a fuck,” Merle grumbled.

“Well aren’t you two just a delight today?” Ella mused. “C’mon, you both need to come with me for this.”

The brothers groaned collectively, causing Ella to shoot them both a glare.

“Buck the fuck up,” she whispered to them intensely. “You realize we have to go through security and customs and we need to act like we are normal?”

Neither of them seemed any happier by the time they reached the counter, but Ella was committed to the act. She chatted happily and explained a honeymoon that never happened and expressed disdain about her brother-in-law being there - which was the only part that the brothers knew was true.

Ella glanced to Daryl in the security line; his fidgeting was beyond her belief.

“Never flown before,” he muttered.

“Oh,” she commented with a smile before patting his back. “It’s easy. Just empty your pockets, take off your shoes and belt, and act calm.”

“Are we going through the airport or are you hitting on me?” Daryl murmured, gazing down at her.

Ella offered him a shy smile. “This time, it’s just the airport.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, sorry for the silence and thanks for the love! Life has been stupidly busy over the past six months and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that things have slowed down just enough that I can update more regularly. I'd love some feedback on my favorite outlaws if you felt so inclined!


	11. Eleven

**Two Months Later**

Daryl leaned in the bathroom doorway as he watched Ella carefully apply makeup to cover up a new black eye. He hated all of it - he hated that Merle was an asshole, that he was a drunk and on something stronger, that he was refusing to get a job. He especially hated that his dumbass brother had taken a recent frustration out on his very own ‘wife’.

Even if _wife_ was the technical term for what the community thought she was to him, Ella truly had become something of a girlfriend. No sex, but a little bit of fooling around here and there. Secret kisses and definitely some sort of budding romance that he spent too much time thinking about, he figured.

“Hit ‘em back next time,” he finally told her when she gave him an expectant look in the mirror.

“That’ll just piss him off more,” she replied quietly. “But he has got to get under control, Daryl.”

“I know,” he replied with a sigh. He crossed his arms over his chest tightly. “He knows better than to do this shit when I’m around.”

“Yeah, well, I shouldn’t have to rely on you for protection from your stupid brother,” she told him plainly. She carefully dabbed the concealer over the bruise, blending it in gently with foundation a moment later. “We’re both working. He can contribute, too.”

Daryl sighed a bit impatiently. “I’m tryin’, Ella.”

“I know you are. I have to run, though, or I’m going to be late. I’ll be home around midnight.” She closed up her makeup case before standing on her toes to give Daryl a quick kiss. “There’s leftover lasagna in the fridge.”

He offered a grimace. “Great.”

She offered a warm smile. “I know, my cooking sucks. My mom used to make it… I tried.”

“Have a good night. Don’t let that boss of yours hit on you.”

Ella’s smile widened. “Yeah, okay. See you later.”

Ella was working in another bar. They had shacked up in a small town in southern California shortly after flying into San Diego. Daryl was working alongside a guy who ran his own tiling company, often having to travel to the city for several days at a time to work jobs and learn the trade. The money was too good to pass up, so even though Daryl had initial hesitations about taking the opportunity, Ella had assured him that she would be just fine with Merle in their rental house.

It wasn’t just fine, though, and while Ella tried to tell Daryl everything was great, she was struggling to remember why she had insisted on keeping both brothers alive when she really only cared about one of them.

Their small, rundown rental house was a ten-minute walk from the edge of the town and a twenty-minute walk from the downtown bar. Most days, she didn’t mind the walk and some days, when the wind was too intense, her boss gave her a ride to shield her from the sand. 

She walked into the small neighborhood bar and offered a wave to Dean, the man who owned the bar. 

“Hey good lookin’,” he greeted with a charming grin.

“Hey boss man,” she replied. “Slow day I take it?”

“Slower than molasses. Your husband couldn’t drive you to work today?”

“The car’s having issues again, he’s working on it.” She walked behind the bar and let out a soft sigh as she punched in on the timeclock. 

“Why’s he got a problem with me? I got you this nice busy job… got you a rental house… got you a car, even if it doesn’t work that great. Hell, I figure I’ve done more for you than he has.”

Ella looked up to her boss and paced a hand on her hip. “You think so, huh?”

He kept his deep brown eyes on hers. His crow’s feet were pronounced with his satisfied smirk. “Sure do, darlin’. I think your whole story’s a bunch of bullshit, but you don’t overpour and you don’t give out free drinks for bigger tips. And, the regulars like flirting with you.”

“Pretty sure the only reason you keep me around,” Ella started as she turned away to wash her hands at the handwashing station, “is to check me out when I’m not looking.”

Dean let out a low chuckle and averted his eyes away from her backside. “What’s your husband think of your job?”

“He doesn’t think much of you,” she responded honestly. “But you pay me, so there’s that.”

“You know what’s interesting about this conversation?” Dean asked curiously. “You didn’t argue me calling you out on your bullshit story.”

“What do you want me to say, Dean? I don’t like lies.”

He shrugged and glanced to the door as the first patron of the day walked through. “So tell the truth.”

Ella smiled and turned to greet the customer. She liked Dean because he was straight-forward and honest. He knew her story wasn’t real but never pushed for the truth any more than he just had.

Dean left around seven and she worked until eleven, when she locked the doors and finished up her side work. When all the work was done, she grabbed her purse and walked out of the bar.

The last thing she expected was to come face to face with Merle.

“No - not now, please, I’m tired,” she told him with a heavy sigh, pushing at him as he came too close.

“You’n’t understand, lil’ lady,” Merle breathed down to her, slapping the set of keys from her hand. “Get inside.”

“I’m getting really tired of dealing with your shit, Merle,” Ella told him as he pushed her back inside the bar. She flipped on the lights without hesitation and took a look to his pinpoint pupils. “You are taking advantage of your brother, you stupid piece of shit. Hate me, I don’t care. You’re always going to be the same person you were way back in Georgia. He deserves better than you’ll ever be.”

“Shut up, bitch. You’re gonna listen to me. They know you’re here and they’re comin’. They’re gonna come drag you back to Montoya so he can deal with you for killin’ Jason. And when you’re gone, that’s when I finally get my brother back for good.”

Ella swallowed thickly. “What are you talking about?”

“You say one goddamn word to him about this and I’ll kill you myself,” Merle growled to her, reaching out to press his pointer finger against her chest. “For real this time.”

She could almost feel the distant bruise from long ago when the blank bullet hit her skin at point-blank range and despite the California heat, she was feeling rather cold. “I’ll-”

“What’s going on in here?” Dean’s booming voice questioned.

Merle’s hand dropped away. 

“You trying to rob the place?” Dean asked then. “Ella, call the cops.”

Merle let out a hoarse laugh. “Yeah, call the cops, Ella.”

“He’s my brother-in-law,” Ella explained. “He’s an asshole but he’s not trying to rob you, Dean.”

His calloused hands grabbed her jaw before he licked his free thumb and pressed beneath her bruised eye, causing her to hiss in pain.

“You do not want to be doing that, my friend,” Dean advised. “Get your hands off her.”

Merle’s hands dropped again as he laughed, backing up with both hands in the air. “See you at home, bitch.”

“You,” Dean told her after a moment, making sure Merle was truly walking away, “have a lot to explain.”

“How… how much did you hear?” she asked, her voice trembling.

Dean let out a sigh as he pushed the front door shut. After the lock was twisted, he reached into his jacket and pulled out, much to Ella’s dismay, a badge. “I’m undercover but I’m not here for you. I don’t know what you’re involved in, but your brother-in-law is getting mixed up in the crowd I’m here to get intel on. You have two options - well, I’m going to give you two options but you have to understand what I should be doing is radioing this shit in.

“Option number one: you leave town. You get the fuck out of here with or without dumbass number one and asshole number two. I ask you no questions and as far as I’m concerned, you worked here a couple of months and disappeared on me. Shit, at this point I could say you were running from an abusive relationship. Or, option number two: you tell me just what the fuck is going on and I let you know what I can do to help you.”

Ella shook her head quickly. “No. You don’t understand.”

“I can’t understand something I don’t know. Now you’re right - I like you. I’m already in violation of my damn job by not calling you in right now. I don’t know who Jason is-”

“Dean,” she told him, holding up a hand. “Please. There’s too much and that badge… I don’t want to keep running and I don’t want to make you do something illegal.”

“Then tell me how I can help you.”

Ella’s jaw tightened as possibilities passed through her mind. She could finally come clean, she could send Merle away possibly forever, she could go home. Instead, she let out a slow breath, thinking of Daryl.

“Can I take a day to think about things?” she asked.

Dean reached out, unintentionally making her flinch before his hand rested on her shoulder. “Yeah. You take what you need. Do you need a safe place to stay?”

“I’m safe with Daryl. I promise.”

“Daryl?” Ella whispered as she walked into the bedroom they shared together. “Hey, Daryl?”

He let out a mix of a groan and a what as he sat up, shielding himself from the light coming from the hallway. 

“I need to talk with you.”

“What?” he asked a little louder, struggling to sit up. 

“It’s… it’s about us.” Ella breathed in deeply as she crossed the room and joined Daryl on the bed. “I’m… I’m…” She was at a loss for words as she looked into his blue eyes. “I don’t know what to do.” And even though she fought it as hard as she could, the tears were coming.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as he pulled her into his arms. “Why are you cryin’?”

Ella couldn’t bring herself to tell him about Merle or about Dean partially because none of it seemed real and partially because, well, she just couldn’t bring herself to make him feel any worse about his brother. 

“Ella if you don’t wanna be with me…” Daryl murmured, though he couldn’t bring himself to finish that statement. 

“No!” she sobbed, holding onto him even tighter. “That’s not what I’m trying to say! I really like you, Daryl.”

He kissed her gently and held onto her for a moment, stroking her hair gently as she calmed down. “It’s gonna be alright.”

She took a shaky breath, wiped her cheeks dry, and gave Daryl a proper kiss. “I’m sorry for waking you. I’m fine, I promise.”

“Ella…” Daryl trailed off as she got up from the bed.

“I’m just getting the light. I’ll be in, in a minute.”

He turned on the lamp and waited patiently, propping himself up on one elbow as he waited for her return. He listened to her lock the front door, shut off the lights, and disappear into the bathroom. He let out a slow breath, wondering what had gotten her so worked up. He hated that he had to leave in the morning, likely for at least four days but truly, he never knew if it would be longer. He didn’t like when it was longer, but the money kept him at it. And the fact that Ella insisted she was fine without him.

When she returned to the bedroom, she closed the door gently and twisted the lock. Daryl’s lips twitched; she never locked the bedroom door. She kicked off her sneakers then paused to push them together neatly next to his work boots. After shimmying out of her shorts, she pulled off her shirt next. Daryl exhaled slowly, wishing he knew if that twist of the lock meant what he thought it did.

Ella joined him on the bed and shifted beneath the blankets. “Can you kiss me again?”

He nodded once and leaned over her carefully, pausing to move her hair out of his way so he wouldn’t accidentally pull on it before pressing his lips to hers. “You sure everything’s alright?”

“Yes now please kiss-”

He complied, kissing her harder until he could slip his tongue against hers, tasting her and nibbling on her plump bottom lip. He ran one hand down her bare side and back up to her bra, glancing up to her eyes with a silent question on his lips.

“I want you, Daryl,” she breathed.

He kissed her again and slid his hand beneath her, fumbling fingers taking a little more than a moment to unclasp her bra. Next to come off were her panties and his fingers brushed over her sex, feeling for the first time in quite a while nervous about being with a woman. But her thighs parted and she was so wet for him that he kissed her hard.

She was pushing at the waistband of his boxers and her fingers tightened around his erection just as his dipped inside of her the first time. She let out a quiet moan and leaned up to kiss him again. “These need to come off,” she breathed, tugging again at his boxers.

Daryl obliged, rolling onto his back so he could kick the blue plaid set off. She straddled him and kissed him and he could feel her wetness against his cock. When she slowly took him inside of her, they both let out a long groan.

His hands gripped her hips tightly as she rode him slowly, knowing he wouldn’t last as long as he wanted but that didn’t matter so much to Ella, who found her own release mere seconds before he came long and hard inside of her.

Daryl wanted to kiss her all night, but the fact that he had to be up in just a few hours was beginning to nag the back of his mind. He held onto her tightly as she fell fast asleep beside him, wondering what exactly had her so wound up when she arrived home from work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's sort of feeling like the end of the world, so I figured it was time to check in with these criminals! Hope you all are safe and healthy!


End file.
